UINIVMS1TY  Of 
CALIFORNIA 


1 


Jurgen 


BOOKS  by  MR.  CABELL 

Biography: 

BEYOND  LIFE 
FIGURES  OF  EARTH 
DOMNEI 
CHIVALRY 
JURGEN 

THE  LINE  OF  LOVE 
THE  HIGH  PLACE 
GALLANTRY 
THE  CERTAIN  HOUR 
THE  CORDS  OF  VANITY 
FROM  THE  HIDDEN  WAY 
THE  RIVET  IN  GRANDFATHER'S  NECK 
THE  EAGLE'S  SHADOW 
THE  CREAM  OF  THE  JEST 
STRAWS  AND  PRAYER-BOOKS 
Scholia: 

THE  LINEAGE  OF  LICHFIELD 

TABOO 

THE  JEWEL  MERCHANTS 


JURGEN  AND  THE  LAW 

(Edited  by  Guy  Holt) 


A  Comedy   of  Justice 


By 

JAMES  BRANCH  CABELL 


"Of  JURGEN  eke  they  maken  mencioun, 
That  of  an  old  wyf  gat  his  youthe  agoon, 
And  gat  himself e  a  shirt e  as  bright  as  fyre 
Wherein  to  jape,  yet  gat  not  his  desire 
In  any  countrie  ne  condicioun." 


NEW  YORK 

ROBERT  M.  McBRIDE  &  COMPANY 

1924 


Copyright,     1919,     by 
JAMES       BRANCH       CABELL 


Sixteenth    Printing,    June,    1924 


Printed  in 

The  United  States  of  America 


P<iblished,     September     1919 


0,114 


TO 

BURTON     RASCOE 

Before  each  tarradiddle, 
Uncowed  by  sciolists, 
Robuster  persons  twiddle 
Tremendously  big  fists. 

"Our  gods  are  good,"  they  tell  us ; 
"Nor  will  our  gods  defer 
Remission  of  rude  fellows' 
Ability  to  err." 

So  this,  your  JURGEN,  travels 
Content  to  compromise 
Ordainments  none  unravels 
Explicitly  .  .  .  and  sighs. 


780 


"Others,  with  better  moderation,  do  either 
entertain  the  vulgar  history  of  Jurgen  as  a 
fabulous  addition  unto  the  true  and  authentic 
story  of  St.  lurgenius  of  Poictesme,  or  else  we 
conceive  the  literal  acception  to  be  a  miscon 
struction  of  the  symbolical  expression :  appre 
hending  a  veritable  history,  in  an  emblem  or 
piece  of  Christian  poesy.  And  this  emblemati 
cal  construction  hath  been  received  by  men 
not  forward  to  extenuate  the  acts  of  saints." 
• — PHILIP  BORSDALE. 


"A  forced  construction  is  very  idle.  If 
readers  of  The  High  History  of  Jurgen  do 
not  meddle  with  the  allegory,  the  allegory 
will  not  meddle  with  them.  Without  minding 
it  at  all,  the  whole  is  as  plain  as  a  pikestaff. 
It  might  as  well  be  pretended  that  we  cannot 
see  Poussin's  pictures  without  first  being  told 
the  allegory,  as  that  the  allegory  aids  us  in 
understanding  Jurgen." 

— E.  NOEL  CODMAN. 


"Too  urbane  to  advocate  delusion,  too  hale 
for  the  bitterness  of  irony,  this  fable  of  Jurgen 
is,  as  the  world  itself,  a  book  wherein  each 
man  will  find  what  his  nature  enables  him 
to  see;  which  gives  us  back  each  his  own 
image;  and  which  teaches  us  each  the  lesson 
that  each  of  us  desires  to  learn." 

—JOHN  FREDERICK  LEWISTAM. 


C on  ten  ts 


A  FOREWORD:    WHICH  ASSERTS  NOTHING 3 

I    WHY  JURGEN  DID  THE  MANLY  THING 9 

II    ASSUMPTION  OF  A  NOTED  GARMENT 14 

III  THE  GARDEN  BETWEEN  DAWN  AND  SUNRISE 18 

IV  THE  DOROTHY  WHO  DID  NOT  UNDERSTAND 22 

V     REQUIREMENTS  OF  BREAD  AND  BUTTER 34 

VI     SHOWING  THAT  SEREDA  Is  FEMININE 39 

VII     OF  COMPROMISES  ON  A  WEDNESDAY 47 

VIII    OLD  TOYS  AND  A  NEW  SHADOW 60 

IX    THE  ORTHODOX  RESCUE  OF  GUENEVERE 66 

X    PITIFUL  DISGUISES  OF  THRAGNAR 72 

XI    APPEARANCE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  LOGREUS 78 

XII    EXCURSUS  OF  YOLANDE'S  UNDOING 82 

XIII  PHILOSOPHY  OF  GOGYRVAN  GAWR 87 

XIV  PRELIMINARY  TACTICS  OF  DUKE  JURGEN 94 

XV    OF  COMPROMISES  IN  GLATHION 104 

XVI     DIVERS  IMBROGLIOS  OF  KING  SMOIT Ill 

XVII    ABOUT  A  COCK  THAT  CROWED  Too  SOON 122 

XVIII    WHY  MERLIN  TALKED  IN  TWILIGHT 129 

XIX     THE  BROWN  MAN  WITH  QUEER  FEET 136 

XX     EFFICACY  OF  PRAYER 141 

XXI    How  ANAITIS  VOYAGED 147 

XXII     As  TO  A  VEIL  THEY  BROKE 151 

XXIII  SHORTCOMINGS  OF  PRINCE  JURGEN 159 

XXIV  OF  COMPROMISES  IN  COCAIGNE 173 

XXV     CANTRAPS  OF  THE  MASTER  PHILOLOGIST 180 


CONTENTS 


XXVI  IN  TIME'S  HOUR-GLASS 

XXVII  VEXATIOUS  ESTATE  OF  QUEEN  HELEN , 

XXVIII  OF  COMPROMISES  IN  LEUKE , 

XXIX  CONCERNING  HORVENDILE'S  NONSENSE , 

XXX  ECONOMICS  OF  KING  JURGEN , 

XXXI  THE  FALL  OF  PSEUDOPOLJS 

XXXII  SUNDRY  DEVICES  OF  THE  PHILISTINES , 

XXXIII  FAREWELL  TO  CHLORIS 

XXXIV  How  EMPEROR  JURGEN  FARED  INFERNALLY, 
XXXV  WHAT  GRANDFATHER  SATAN  REPORTED 

XXXVI  WHY  COTH  WAS  CONTRADICTED , 

XXXVII  INVENTION  OF  THE  LOVELY  VAMPIRE 

XXXVIII  As  TO  APPLAUDED  PRECEDENTS 

XXXIX  OF  COMPROMISES  IN  HELL 

XL  THE  ASCENSION  OF  POPE  JURGEN 

XLI  OF  COMPROMISES  IN  HEAVEN 

XLII  TWELVE  THAT  ARE  FRETTED  HOURLY 

XLIII  POSTURES  BEFORE  A  SHADOW 

XLIV  IN  THE  MANAGER'S  OFFICE 

XLV  THE  FAITH  OF  GUENEVERE 

XLVI  THE  DESIRE  OF  ANAITIS 

XLVII  THE  VISION  OF  HELEN 

XLVIII  CANDID  OPINIONS  OF  DAME  LISA 

XLIX  OF  THE  COMPROMISE  WITH  KOSHCHEI 

L  THE  MOMENT  THAT  DID  NOT  COUNT... 


185 
192 
201 

224 
230 
235 
246 
251 
255 
260 
268 
273 
282 
290 
296 
308 
314 
327 
335 
340 
345 
349 
356 
364 


A     FOREWORD 

'Nescio  quid  certi  est:  et  Hylax  in  limine  latrat: 


A  Foreword:  Which  Asserts  Nothing 

IN  Continental  periodicals  not  more  than  a  dozen 
articles  in  all  would  seem  to  have  given  accounts 
or  partial  translations  of  the  Jurgen  legends.  No 
thorough  investigation  of  this  epos  can  be  said  to  have 
appeared  in  print,  anywhere,  prior  to  the  publication,  in 
1913,  of  the  monumental  Synopses  of  Aryan  Mythology 
by  Angelo  de  Ruiz.  It  is  unnecessary  to  observe  that 
in  this  exhaustive  digest  Professor  de  Ruiz  has  given 
(VII,  p.  415  et  sequentia)  a  summary  of  the  greater 
part  of  these  legends  as  contained  in  the  collections  of 
Verville  and  Biilg;  and  has  discussed  at  length  and  with 
much  learning  the  esoteric  meaning  of  these  folk-stories 
and  their  bearing  upon  questions  to  which  the  "solar 
theory"  of  myth  explanation  has  given  rise.  To  his 
volumes,  and  to  the  pages  of  Mr.  Lewistam's  Key  to  the 
Popular  Tales  of  Poictesme,  must  be  referred  all  those 
who  may  ^lect  to  think  of  Jurgen  as  the  resplendent, 
journeying  and  procreative  sun. 

Equally  in  reading  hereinafter  will  the  judicious 
waive  all  allegorical  interpretation,  if  merely  because 
the  suggestions  hitherto  advanced  are  inconveniently 
various.  Thus  Verville  finds  the  Nessus  shirt  a  symbol 
of  retribution,  where  Biilg,  with  rather  wide  divergence, 
would  have  it  represent  the  dangerous  gift  of  genius. 
Then  it  may  be  remembered  that  Dr.  Codman  says, 
without  any  hesitancy,  of  Mother  Sereda:  "This 
Mother  Middle  is  the  world  generally  (an  obvious  ana 
gram  of  Erda  es),  and  this  Sereda  rules  not  merely  the 
middle  of  the  working-days  but  the  midst  of  everything. 
She  is  the  factor  of  middleness,  of  mediocrity,  of  an 


A  FOREWORD 


avoidance  of  extremes,  of  the  eternal  compromise  be 
gotten  by  use  and  wont.  She  is  the  Mrs.  Grundy  of  the 
Leshy ;  she  is  Comstockery :  and  her  shadow  is  common- 
sense."  Yet  Codman  speaks  with  certainly  no  more  au 
thority  than  Prote,  when  the  latter,  in  his  Origins  of 
Fable,  declares  this  epos  is  "a  parable  of  .  .  . 
man's  vain  journeying  in  search  of  that  ration 
ality  and  justice  which  his  nature  craves,  and  discovers 
nowhere  in  the  universe:  and  the  shirt  is  an  emblem  of 
this  instinctive  craving,  as  ...  the  shadow  symbol 
izes  conscience.  Sereda  typifies  a  surrender  to  life  as 
it  is,  a  giving  up  of  man's  rebellious  self-centredness 
and  selfishness:  the  anagram  being  se  dare." 

Thus  do  interpretations  throng  and  clash,  and  neatly 
equal  the  commentators  in  number.  Yet  possibly  each 
one  of  these  unriddlings,  with  no  doubt  a  host  of  others, 
is  conceivable:  so  that  wisdom  will  dwell  upon  none  of 
them  very  seriously. 

With  the  origin  and  the  occult  meaning  of  the  folk 
lore  of  Poictesme  this  book  at  least  is  in  no  wise  con 
cerned  :  its  unambitious  aim  has  been  merely  to  familiar 
ize  English  readers  with  the  Jurgen  epos  for  the  tale's 
sake.  And  this  tale  of  old  years  is  one  which,  by  rare 
fortune,  can  be  given  to  English  readers  almost  un 
abridged,  in  view  of  the  singular  delicacy  and  pure- 
mindedness  of  the  Jurgen  mythos:  in  all,  not  more  than 
a  half-dozen  deletions  have  seemed  expedient  (and  have 
been  duly  indicated)  in  order  to  remove  such  sparse  and 
unimportant  outcroppings  of  mediaeval  frankness  as 
might  conceivably  offend  the  squeamish. 

Since  this  volume  is  presented  simply  as  a  story  to  be 
read  for  pastime,  neither  morality  nor  symbolism  is 


A  FOREWORD 


hereinafter  educed,  and  no  "parallels"  and  "authorities" 
are  quoted.  Even  the  gaps  are  left  unbridged  by  guess 
work:  whereas  the  historic  and  mythological  problems 
perhaps  involved  are  relinquished  to  those  really 
thoroughgoing  scholars  whom  erudition  qualifies  to  deal 
with  such  topics,  and  tedium  does  not  deter.  .  .  . 

In  such  terms,  and  thus  far,  ran  the  Foreword  to  the 
first  issues  of  this  book,  whose  later  fortunes  have  made 
necessary  the  lengthening  of  the  Foreword  with  a  post 
script.  The  needed  addition — this  much  at  least  chiming 
with  good  luck — is  brief.  It  is  just  that  fragment  which 
some  scholars,  since  the  first  appearance  of  this  volume, 
have  asserted — upon  what  perfect  frankness  must  de 
scribe  as  not  indisputable  grounds — to  be  a  portion  of  the 
thirty-second  chapter  of  the  complete  form  of  La  Haulte 
Histoire  de  Jurgen. 

And  in  reply  to  what  these  scholars  assert,  discretion 
says  nothing.  For  this  fragment  was,  of  course,  un 
known  when  the  High  History  was  first  put  into  English, 
and  there  in  consequence  appears,  here,  little  to  be  won 
either  by  endorsing  or  denying  its  claims  to  authenticity. 
Rather,  does  discretion  prompt  the  appending,  without 
any  gloss  or  scholia,  of  this  fragment,  which  deals  with 

The  Judging  of  Jurgen. 

Now  a  court  was  held  by  the  Philistines  to  decide 
whether  or  no  King  Jurgen  should  be  relegated  to  limbo. 
And  when  the  judges  were  prepared  for  judging,  there 
came  into  the  court  a  great  tumblebug,  rolling  in  front  of 
him  his  loved  and  properly  housed  young  ones.  With  the 
creature  came  pages,  in  black  and  white,  bearing  a  sword, 
a  staff  and  a  lance. 


A  FOREWORD 


This  insect  looked  at  Jurgen,  and  its  pincers  rose  erect 
in  horror.  The  bug  cried  to  the  three  judges,  "Now,  by 
St.  Anthony !  this  Jurgen  must  forthwith  be  relegated  to 
limbo,  for  he  is  offensive  and  lewd  and  lascivious  and 
indecent." 

"And  how  can  that  be?"  says  Jurgen. 

"You  are  offensive,"  the  bug  replied,  "because  this  page 
has  a  sword  which  I  choose  to  say  is  not  a  sword.  You 
are  lewd  because  that  page  has  a  lance  which  I  prefer  to 
think  is  not  a  lance.  You  are  lascivious  because  yonder 
page  has  a  staff  which  I  elect  to  declare  is  not  a  staff. 
And  finally,  you  are  indecent  for  reasons  of  which  a  de 
scription  would  be  objectionable  to  me,  and  which  there 
fore  I  must  decline  to  reveal  to  anybody." 

"Well,  that  sounds  logical,"  says  Jurgen,  "but  still,  at 
the  same  time,  it  would  be  no  worse  for  an  admixture 
of  common-sense.  For  you  gentlemen  can  see  for  your 
selves,  by  considering  these  pages  fairly  and  as  a  whole, 
that  these  pages  bear  a  sword  and  a  lance  and  a  staff, 
and  nothing  else  whatever;  and  you  will  deduce,  I 
hope,  that  all  the  lewdness  is  in  the  insectival  mind  of 
him  who  itches  to  be  calling  these  things  by  other 
names." 

The  judges  said  nothing  as  yet.  But  they  that  guarded 
Jurgen,  and  all  the  other  Philistines,  stood  to  this  side 
and  to  that  side  with  their  eyes  shut  tight,  and  all  these 
said :  "We  decline  to  look  at  the  pages  fairly  and  as  a 
whole,  because  to  look  might  seem  to  imply  a  doubt  of 
what  the  tumblebug  has  decreed.  Besides,  as  long  as  the 
tumblebug  has  reasons  which  he  declines  to  reveal,  his 
reasons  stay  unanswerable,  and  you  are  plainly  a  prurient 
rascal  who  are  making  trouble  for  yourself." 


A  FOREWORD 


"To  the  contrary,"  says  Jurgen,  "I  am  a  poet,  and  I 
make  literature." 

"But  in  Philistia  to  make  literature  and  to  make  trou 
ble  for  yourself  are  synonyms,"  the  tumblebug  explained. 
"I  know,  for  already  we  of  Philistia  have  been  pestered 
by  three  of  these  makers  of  literature.  Yes,  there  was 
Edgar,  whom  I  starved  and  hunted  until  I  was  tired  of  it : 
then  I  chased  him  up  a  back  alley  one  night,  and  knocked 
out  those  annoying  brains  of  his.  And  there  was  Walt, 
whom  I  chivvied  and  battered  from  place  to  place,  and 
made  a  paralytic  of  him :  and  him,  too,  I  labelled  offensive 
and  lewd  and  lascivious  and  indecent.  Then  later  there 
was  Mark,  whom  I  frightened  into  disguising  himself  in 
a  clown's  suit,  so  that  nobody  might  suspect  him  to  be  a 
maker  of  literature:  indeed,  I  frightened  him  so  that  he 
hid  away  the  greater  part  of  what  he  had  made  until  after 
he  was  dead,  and  I  could  not  get  at  him.  That  was  a  dis 
gusting  trick  to  play  on  me,  I  consider.  Still,  these  are 
the  only  three  detected  makers  of  literature  that  have  ever 
infested  Philistia,  thanks  be  to  goodness  and  my  vigilance, 
but  for  both  of  which  we  might  have  been  no  more  free 
from  makers  of  literature  than  are  the  other  countries." 

"Now,  but  these  three,"  cried  Jurgen,  "are  the  glory  of 
Philistia :  and  of  all  that  Philistia  has  produced,  it  is  these 
three  alone,  whom  living  ye  made  least  of,  that  to-day  are 
honored  wherever  art  is  honored,  and  where  nobody 
bothers  one  way  or  the  other  about  Philistia." 

"What  is  art  to  me  and  my  way  of  living?"  replied 
the  tumblebug,  wearily.  "I  have  no  concern  with  art  and 
letters  and  the  other  lewd  idols  of  foreign  nations.  I  have 
in  charge  the  moral  welfare  of  my  young,  whom  I  roll 
here  before  me,  and  trust  with  St.  Anthony's  aid  to  raise 


A  FOREWORD 


in  time  to  be  God-fearing  tumblebugs  like  me,  delighting 
in  what  is  proper  to  their  nature.  For  the  rest,  I  have 
never  minded  dead  men  being  well-spoken-of .  No,  no,  my 
lad :  once  whatever  I  may  do  means  nothing  to  you,  and 
once  you  are  really  rotten,  you  will  find  the  tumblebug 
friendly  enough.  Meanwhile  I  am  paid  to  protest  that 
living  persons  are  offensive  and  lewd  and  lascivious  and 
indecent,  and  one  must  live." 

Then  the  Philistines  who  stood  to  this  side  and  to  that 
side  said  in  indignant  unison:  "And  we,  the  reputable 
citizenry  of  Philistia,  are  not  at  all  in  sympathy  with 
those  who  would  take  any  protest  against  the  tumblebug 
as  a  justification  of  what  they  are  pleased  to  call  art.  The 
harm  done  by  the  tumblebug  seems  to  us  very  slight, 
whereas  the  harm  done  by  the  self-styled  artist  may  be 
very  great." 

Jurgen  now  looked  more  attentively  at  this  queer  crea 
ture:  and  he  saw  that  the  tumblebug  was  malodorous, 
certainly,  but  at  bottom  honest  and  well-meaning ;  and  this 
seemed  to  Jurgen  the  saddest  thing  he  had  found  among 
the  Philistines.  For  the  tumblebug  was  sincere  in  his 
insane  doings,  and  all  Philistia  honored  him  sincerely,  so 
that  there  was  nowhere  any  hope  for  this  people. 

Therefore  King  Jurgen  addressed  himself,  as  his  need 
was,  to  submit  to  the  strange  customs  of  the  Philistines. 
"Now  do  you  judge  me  fairly,"  cried  Jurgen  to  his  judges, 
"if  there  be  any  justice  in  this  mad  country.  And  if 
there  be  none,  do  you  relegate  me  to  limbo  or  to  any  other 
place,  so  long  as  in  that  place  this  tumblebug  is  not  omni 
potent  and  sincere  and  insane." 

And  Jurgen  waited.  .  .  . 


J  URG  EN 

amara  lento  temperet  risu 


Jurgen  Did  the  Manly  Thing 


IT  is  a  tale  which  they  narrate  in  Poictesme,  saying: 
In  the  old  days  lived  a  pawnbroker  named  Jurgen; 
but  what  his  wife  called  him  was  very  often  much 
worse  than  that.  She  was  a  high-spirited  woman,  with 
no  especial  gift  for  silence.  Her  name,  they  say,  was 
Adelais,  but  people  by  ordinary  called  her  Dame  Lisa. 

They  tell,  also,  that  in  the  old  days,  after  putting  up 
the  shop-windows  for  the  night,  Jurgen  was  passing  the 
Cistercian  Abbey,  on  his  wray  home :  and  one  of  the  monks 
had  tripped  over  a  stone  in  the  roadway.  He  was  cursing 
the  devil  who  had  placed  it  there. 

"Fie,  brother!"  says  Jurgen,  "and  have  not  the  devils 
enough  to  bear  as  it  is?" 

"I  never  held  with  Origen,"  replied  the  monk;  "and 
besides,  it  hurt  my  great-toe  confoundedly." 

"None  the  less,"  observes  Jurgen,  "it  does  not  behoove 
God-fearing  persons  to  speak  with  disrespect  of  the  di 
vinely  appointed  Prince  of  Darkness.  To  your  further 
confusion,  consider  this  monarch's  industry!  day  and 
night  you  may  detect  him  toiling  at  the  task  Heaven  set 
him.  That  is  a  thing  can  be  said  of  few  communicants 
and  of  no  monks.  Think,  too,  of  his  fine  artistry,  as  evi 
denced  in  all  the  perilous  and  lovely  snares  of  this  world, 
which  it  is  your  business  to  combat,  and  mine  to  lend 

9 


10  JURGEN 


money  upon.  Why,  but  for  him  we  would  both  be  voca- 
tionless!  Then,  too,  consider  his  philanthropy!  and  de 
liberate  how  insufferable  would  be  our  case  if  you  and  I, 
and  all  our  fellow  parishioners,  were  to-day  hobnobbing 
with  other  beasts  in  the  Garden  which  we  pretend  to  desi 
derate  on  Sundays!  To  arise  with  swine  and  lie  down 
with  the  hyena  ? — oh,  intolerable  I" 

Thus  he  ran  on,  devising  reasons  for  not  thinkingtoo 
harshly  of  the  Devil.  Most  of  it  was  an  abridgement  of 
some  verses  Jurgen  had  composed,  in  the  shop  when 
business  was  slack. 

"I  consider  that  to  be  stuff  and  nonsense,"  was  the 
monk's  glose. 

''No  doubt  your  notion  is  sensible,"  observed  the  pawn- 
broker :  "but  mine  is  the  prettier." 

Then  Jurgen  passed  the  Cistercian  Abbey,  and  was  ap 
proaching  Bellegarde,  when  he  met  a  black  gentleman, 
who  saluted  him  and  said: 

"Thanks,  Jurgen,  for  your  good  word." 

"Who  are  you,  and  why  do  you  thank  me?"  asks 
Jurgen. 

"My  name  is  no  great  matter.  But  you  have  a  kind 
heart,  Jurgen.  May  your  life  be  free  from  care!" 

"Save  us  from  hurt  and  harm,  friend,  but  I  am  already 
married." 

"Eh,  sirs,  and  a  fine  clever  poet  like  you !" 

"Yet  it  is  a  long  while  now  since  I  was  a  practising 
poet." 

"Why,  to  be  sure !  You  have  the  artistic  temperament, 
which  is  not  exactly  suited  to  the  restrictions  of  domestic 
life.  Then  I  suppose  your  wife  has  her  own  personal 
opinion  about  ooetry,  Jurgen." 


WHY  JURGEN  DID  THE  MANLY  THING  11 


"Indeed,  sir,  her  opinion  would  not  bear  repetition,  for 
I  am  sure  you  are  unaccustomed  to  such  language." 

"This  is  very  sad.  I  am  afraid  your  wife  does  not  quite 
understand  you,  Jurgen." 

"Sir,"  says  Jurgen,  astounded,  "do  you  read  people's 
inmost  thoughts?" 

The  black  gentleman  seemed  much  dejected.  He 
pursed  his  lips,  and  fell  to  counting  upon  his  fingers :  as 
they  moved  his  sharp  nails  glittered  like  flame-points. 

"Now  but  this  is  a  very  deplorable  thing,"  says  the 
black  gentleman,  "to  have  befallen  the  first  person  I  have 
found  ready  to  speak  a  kind  word  for  evil.  And  in  all 
these  centuries,  too !  Dear  me,  this  is  a  most  regrettable 
instance  of  mismanagement!  No  matter,  Jurgen,  the 
morning  is  brighter  than  the  evening.  How  I  will  reward 
you,  to  be  sure !" 

So  Jurgen  thanked  the  simple  old  creature  politely. 
And  when  Jurgen  reached  home  his  wife  was  nowhere  to 
be  seen.  He  looked  on  all  sides  and  questioned  everyone, 
but  to  no  avail.  Dame  Lisa  had  vanished  in  the  midst  of 
getting  supper  ready — suddenly,  completely  and  inexplic 
ably,  just  as  (in  Jurgen's  figure)  a  windstorm  passes  and 
leaves  behind  it  a  tranquillity  which  seems,  by  contrast, 
uncanny.  Nothing  could  explain  the  mystery,  short  of 
magic:  and  Jurgen  on  a  sudden  recollected  the  black 
gentleman's  queer  promise.  Jurgen  crossed  himself. 

"How  unjustly  now,"  says  Jurgen,  "do  some  people  get 
an  ill  name  for  gratitude !  And  now  do  I  perceive  how 
wise  I  am,  always  to  speak  pleasantly  of  everybody,  in 
this  world  of  tale-bearers." 

Then  Jurgen  prepared  his  own  supper,  went  to  bed,  and 
slept  soundly. 


12  JURGEN 


"I  have  implicit  confidence,"  says  he,  "in  Lisa.  I  have 
particular  confidence  in  her  ability  to  take  care  of  herself 
in  any  surroundings." 

That  was  all  very  well :  but  time  passed,  and  presently 
it  began  to  be  rumored  that  Dame  Lisa  walked  on 
Morven.  Her  brother,  who  was  a  grocer  and  a  member 
of  the  town-council,  went  thither  to  see  about  this  report. 
And  sure  enough,  there  was  Jurgen's  wife  walking  in  the 
twilight  and  muttering  incessantly. 

"Fie,  sister!"  says  the  town-councillor,  "this  is  very 
unseemly  conduct  for  a  married  woman,  and  a  thing 
likely  to  be  talked  about." 

"Follow  me !"  replied  Dame  Lisa.  And  the  town-coun 
cillor  followed  her  a  little  way  in  the  dusk,  but  when  she 
came  to  Amneran  Heath  and  still  went  onward,  he  knew 
better  than  to  follow. 

Next  evening  the  elder  sister  of  Dame  Lisa  went  to 
Morven.  This  sister  had  married  a  notary,  and  was  a 
shrewd  woman.  In  consequence,  she  took  with  her  this 
evening  a  long  wand  of  peeled  willow-wood.  And  there 
was  Jurgen's  wife  walking  in  the  twilight  and  muttering 
incessantly. 

"Fie,  sister!"  says  the  notary's  wife,  who  was  a  shrewd 
woman,  "and  do  you  not  know  that  all  this  while  Jurgen 
does  his  own  sewing,  and  is  once  more  making  eyes  at 
Countess  Dorothy?" 

Dame  Lisa  shuddered ;  but  she  only  said,  "Follow  me !" 

And  the  notary's  wife  followed  her  to  Amneran  Heath, 
and  across  the  heath,  to  where  a  cave  was.  This  was  a 
place  of  abominable  repute.  A  lean  hound  came  to  meet 
them  there  in  the  twilight,  lolling  his  tongue :  but  the  no 
tary's  wife  struck  thrice  with  her  wand,  and  the  silent 


WHY  JURGEN  DID  THE  MANLY  THING  13 


beast  left  them.  And  Dame  Lisa  passed  silently  into  the 
cave,  and  her  sister  turned  and  went  home  to  her  children, 
weeping. 

So  the  next  evening  Jurgen  himself  came  to  Morven, 
because  all  his  wife's  family  assured  him  this  was  the 
manly  thing  to  do.  Jurgen  left  the  shop  in  charge  of 
Urien  Villemarche,  who  was  a  highly  efficient  clerk.  Jur 
gen  followed  his  wife  across  Amneran  Heath  until  they 
reached  the  cave.  Jurgen  would  willingly  have  been  else 
where. 

For  the  hound  squatted  upon  his  haunches,  and  seemed 
to  grin  at  Jurgen ;  and  there  were  other  creatures  abroad, 
that  flew  low  in  the  twilight,  keeping  close  to  the  ground 
like  owls ;  but  they  were  larger  than  owls  and  were  more 
discomforting.  And,  moreover,  all  this  was  just  after  sun 
set  upon  Walburga's  Eve,  when  almost  anything  is  rather 
more  than  likely  to  happen. 

So  Jurgen  said,  a  little  peevishly :  "Lisa,  my  dear,  if  you 
go  into  the  cave  I  will  have  to  follow  you,  because  it  is 
the  manly  thing  to  do.  And  you  know  how  easily  I  take 
cold." 

The  voice  of  Dame  Lisa,  now,  was  thin  and  wailing, 
a  curiously  changed  voice.  "There  is  a  cross  about  your 
neck.  You  must  throw  that  away." 

Jurgen  was  wearing  such  a  cross,  through  motives  of 
sentiment,  because  it  had  once  belonged  to  his  dead 
mother.  But  now,  to  pleasure  his  wife,  he  removed  the 
trinket,  and  hung  it  on  a  barberry  bush ;  and  with  the  re 
flection  that  this  was  likely  to  prove  a  deplorable  business, 
he  followed  Dame  Lisa  into  the  cave. 


2. 

Assumption  of  a  Noted  Garment 


THE  tale  tells  that  all  was  dark  there,  and  Jurgen 
could  see  no  one.    But  the  cave  stretched  straight 
forward,  and  downward,  and  at  the  far  end  was  a 
glow  of  light.    Jurgen  went  on  and  on,  and  so  came  pres 
ently  to  a  centaur:  and  this  surprised  him  not  a  little, 
because    Jurgen   knew    that    centaurs    were    imaginary 
creatures. 

Certainly  they  were  curious  to  look  at:  for  here  was 
the  body  of  a  fine  bay  horse,  and  rising  from  its  shoulders, 
the  sun-burnt  body  of  a  young  fellow  who  regarded  Jur 
gen  with  grave  and  not  unfriendly  eyes.  The  Centaur 
was  lying  beside  a  fire  of  cedar  and  juniper  wood:  near 
him  was  a  platter  containing  a  liquid  with  which  he  was 
anointing  his  hoofs.  This  stuff,  as  the  Centaur  rubbed 
it  in  with  his  fingers,  turned  the  appearance  of  his  hoofs 
to  gold. 

"Hail,  friend,"  says  Jurgen,  "if  you  be  the  work  of 
God." 

"Your  protasis  is  not  good  Greek,"  observed  the 
Centaur,  "because  in  Hellas  we  did  not  make  such  reser 
vations.  Besides,  it  is  not  so  much  my  origin  as  my  desti^ 
nation  which  concerns  you." 

"Well,  friend,  and  whither  are  you  going?" 

"To  the  garden  between  dawn  and  sunrise,  Jurgen." 

14 


ASSUMPTION  OF  A  NOTED  GARMENT  15 


"Surely,  now,  but  that  is  a  fine  name  for  a  garden!  and 
it  is  a  place  I  would  take  joy  to  be  seeing." 

"Up  upon  my  back,  Jurgen,  and  I  will  take  you 
thither,"  says  the  Centaur,  and  heaved  to  his  feet.  Then 
said  the  Centaur,  when  the  pawnbroker  hesitated :  "Be 
cause,  as  you  must  understand,  there  is  no  other  way. 
For  this  garden  does  not  exist,  and  never  did  exist,  in 
what  men  humorously  called  real  life;  so  that  of  course 
only  imaginary  creatures  such  as  I  can  enter  it." 

"That  sounds  very  reasonable,"  Jurgen  estimated :  "but 
as  it  happens,  I  am  looking  for  my  wife,  whom  I  suspect 
to  have  been  carried  off  by  a  devil,  poor  fellow !" 

And  Jurgen  began  to  explain  to  the  Centaur  what  had 
befallen. 

The  Centaur  laughed.  "It  may  be  for  that  reason  I 
am  here.  There  is,  in  any  event,  only  one  remedy  in  this 
matter.  Above  all  devils — and  above  all  gods,  they  tell 
me,  but  certainly  above  all  centaurs — is  the  power  of 
Koshchei  the  Deathless,  who  made  things  as  they  are." 

"It  is  not  always  wholesome,"  Jurgen  submitted,  "to 
speak  of  Koshche-i.  It  seems  especially  undesirable  in  a 
dark  place  like  this." 

"None  the  less,  I  suspect  it  is  to  him  you  must  go  for 
justice." 

"I  would  prefer  not  doing  that,"  said  Jurgen,  with  un 
affected  candor. 

"You  have  my  sympathy:  but  there  is  no  question  of 
preference  where  Koshchei  is  concerned.  Do  you  think, 
for  example,  that  I  am  frowzing  in  this  underground 
place  by  my  own  choice?  and  knew  your  name  by 
accident  ?" 

Jurgen  was  frightened,  a  little.    "Well,  well !  but  it  is 


16  JURGEN 


usually  the  deuce  and  all,  this  doing  of  the  manly  thing. 
How,  then,  can  I  come  to  Koshchei  ?" 

"Roundabout,"  says  the  Centaur.  "There  is  never  any 
other  way." 

"And  is  the  road  to  this  garden  roundabout?" 

"Oh,  very  much  so,  inasmuch  as  it  circumvents  both 
destiny  and  common-sense." 

"Needs  must,  then,"  says  Jurgen:  "at  all  events,  I  am 
willing  to  taste  any  drink  once." 

"You  will  be  chilled,  though,  traveling  as  you  are.  For 
you  and  I  are  going  a  queer  way,  in  search  of  justice, 
over  the  grave  of  a  dream  and  through  the  malice  of  time. 
So  you  had  best  put  on  this  shirt  above  your  other 
clothing." 

"Indeed  it  is  a  fine  snug  shining  garment,  with  curious 
figures  on  it.  I  accept  such  raiment  gladly.  And  whom 
shall  I  be  thanking  for  his  kindness,  now?" 

"My  name,"  said  the  Centaur,  "is  Nessus." 

"Well,  then,  friend  Nessus,  I  am  at  your  service." 

And  in  a  trice  Jurgen  was  on  the  Centaur's  back,  and 
the  two  of  them  had  somehow  come  out  of  the  cave,  and 
were  crossing  Amneran  Heath.  So  they  passed  into  a 
wooded  place,  where  the  light  of  sunset  yet  lingered, 
rather  unaccountably.  Now  the  Centaur  went  westward. 
And  now  about  the  pawnbroker's  shoulders  and  upon  his 
breast  and  over  his  lean  arms  glittered  like  a  rainbow  the 
many-colored  shirt  of  Nessus. 

For  a  while  they  went  through  the  woods,  which  were 
composed  of  big  trees  standing  a  goodish  distance  from 
one  another,  with  the  Centaur's  gilded  hoofs  rustling  and 
sinking  in  a  thick  carpet  of  dead  leaves,  all  gray  and 
brown,  in  level  stretches  that  were  unbroken  by  any  un- 


ASSUMPTION  OF  A  NOTED  GARMENT  17 


dergrowth.  And  then  they  came  to  a  white  roadway  that 
extended  due  west,  and  so  were  done  with  the  woods. 
Now  happened  an  incredible  thing  in  which  Jurgen  would 
never  have  believed  had  he  not  seen  it  with  his  own  eyes  : 
for  now  the  Centaur  went  so  fast  that  he  gained  a  little 
by  a  little  upon  the  sun,  thus  causing  it  to  rise  in  the  west 
a  little  by  a  little;  and  these  two  sped  westward  in  the 
glory  of  a  departed  sunset.  The  sun  fell  full  in  Jurgen's 
face  as  he  rode  straight  toward  the  west,  so  that  he 
blinked  and  closed  his  eyes,  and  looked  first  toward  this 
side,  then  the  other.  Thus  it  was  that  the  country  about 
him,  and  the  persons  they  were  passing,  were  seen  by  him 
in  quick  bright  flashes,  like  pictures  suddenly  transmuted 
into  other  pictures ;  and  all  his  memories  of  this  shining 
highway  were,  in  consequence,  always  confused  and 
incoherent. 

He  wondered  that  there  seemed  to  be  so  many  young 
women  along  the  road  to  the  garden.  Here  was  a  slim 
girl  in  white  teasing  a  great  brown  and  yellow  dog  that 
leaped  about  her  clumsily ;  here  a  girl  sat  in  the  branches 
of  a  twisted  and  gnarled  tree,  and  back  of  her  was  a 
broad  muddied  river,  copper-colored  in  the  sun ;  and  here 
shone  the  fair  head  of  a  tall  girl  on  horseback,  who 
seemed  to  wait  for  someone :  in  fine,  the  girls  along  the 
way  were  numberless,  and  Jurgen  thought  he  recollected 
one  or  two  of  them. 

But  the  Centaur  went  so  swiftly  that  Jurgen  could  not 
be  sure. 


The  Garden  between  Dawn  and  Sunrise, 


THUS  it  was  that  Jurgen  and  the  Centaur  came  to 
the  garden  between  dawn  and  sunrise,  entering  this 
place  in  a  fashion  which  it  is  not  convenient  to 
record.     But  as  they  passed  over  the  bridge  three  fled 
before  them,  screaming.     And  when  the  life  had  been 
trampled  out  of  the  small  furry  bodies  which  these  three 
had  misused,  there  was  none  to  oppose  the  Centaur's 
entry  into  the  garden  between  dawn  and  sunrise. 

This  was  a  wonderful  garden :  yet  nothing  therein  was 
strange.  Instead,  it  seemed  that  everything  hereabouts 
was  heart-breakingly  familiar  and  very  dear  to  Jurgen. 
For  he  had  come  to  a  broad  lawn  which  slanted  north 
ward  to  a  well-remembered  brook:  and  multitudinous 
maples  and  locust-trees  stood  here  and  there,  irregularly, 
and  were  being  played  with  very  lazily  by  an  irresolute 
west  wind,  so  that  foliage  seemed  to  toss  and  ripple  every 
where  like  green  spray :  but  autumn  was  at  hand,  for  the 
locust-trees  were  dropping  a  Danae's  shower  of  small 
round  yellow  leaves.  Around  the  garden  was  an  unfor- 
gotten  circle  of  blue  hills.  And  this  was  a  place  of  lucent 
twilight,  unlit  by  either  sun  or  stars,  and  with  no  shadows 
anywhere  in  the  diffused  faint  radiancy  that  revealed  this 
garden,  which  is  not  visible  to  any  man  except  in  the  brief 
interval  between  dawn  and  sunrise. 

18 


GARDEN  BETWEEN  DAWN  AND  SUNRISE        19 


"Why,  but  it  is  Count  Emmerick's  garden  at  Stori- 
sende,"  says  Jurgen,  "where  I  used  to  be  having  such 
fine  times  when  I  was  a  lad." 

"I  will  wager,"  said  Nessus,  "that  you  did  not  use  to 
walk  alone  in  this  garden." 

"Well,  no ;  there  was  a  girl." 

"Just  so,"  assented  Nessus.  "It  is  a  local  by-law :  and 
here  are  those  who  comply  with  it." 

For  now  had  come  toward  them,  walking  together  in 
the  dawn,  a  handsome  boy  and  girl.  And  the  girl  was 
incredibly  beautiful,  because  everybody  in  the  garden  saw 
her  with  the  vision  of  the  boy  who  was  with  her. 

"I  am  Rudolph,"  said  this  boy,  "and  she  is  Anne." 

"And  are  you  happy  here  ?"  asked  Jurgen. 

"Oh,  yes,  sir,  we  are  tolerably  happy :  but  Anne's  father 
is  very  rich,  and  my  mother  is  poor,  so  that  we  cannot  be 
quite  happy  until  I  have  gone  into  foreign  lands  and  come 
back  with  a  great  many  lakhs  of  rupees  and  pieces  of 
eight." 

"And  what  will  you  do  with  all  this  money,  Rudolph?" 

"My  duty,  sir,  as  I  see  it.  But  I  inherit  defective  eye 
sight." 

"God  speed  to  you,  Rudolph !"  said  Jurgen,  "for  many 
others  are  in  your  plight." 

Then  came  to  Jurgen  and  the  Centaur  another  boy 
with  the  small  blue-eyed  person  in  whom  he  took  delight. 
And  this  fat  and  indolent  looking  boy  informed  them  that 
he  and  the  girl  who  was  with  him  were  walking  in  the 
glaze  of  the  red  mustard  jar,  which  Jurgen  thought  was 
gibberish :  and  the  fat  boy  said  that  he  and  the  girl  had 
decided  never  to  grow  any  older,  which  Jurgen  said  was 
excellent  good  sense  if  only  they  could  manage  it. 


20  JURGEN 


"Oh,  I  can  manage  that,"  said  this  fat  boy,  reflectively, 
"if  only  I  do  not  find  the  managing  of  it  uncomfortable." 

Jurgen  for  a  moment  regarded  him,  and  then  gravely 
shook  hands. 

"I  feel  for  you,"  said  Jurgen,  "for  I  perceive  that  you, 
too,  are  a  monstrous  clever  fellow :  so  life  will  get  the  best 
of  you." 

"But  is  not  cleverness  the  main  thing,  sir?" 

"Time  will  show  you,  my  lad,"  says  Jurgen,  a  little 
sorrowfully.  "And  God  speed  to  you,  for  many  others 
are  in  your  plight." 

And  a  host  of  boys  and  girls  did  Jurgen  see  in  the 
garden.  And  all  the  faces  that  Jurgen  saw  were  young 
and  glad  and  very  lovely  and  quite  heart-breakingly  confi 
dent,  as  young  persons  beyond  numbering  came  toward 
Jurgen  and  passed  him  there,  in  the  first  glow  of  dawn : 
so  they  all  went  exulting  in  the  glory  of  their  youth,  and 
foreknowing  life  to  be  a  puny  antagonist  from  whom  one 
might  take  very  easily  anything  which  one  desired.  And 
all  passed  in  couples — "as  though  they  came  from  the 
Ark,"  said  Jurgen.  But  the  Centaur  said  they  followed 
a  precedent  which  was  far  older  than  the  Ark. 

"For  in  this  garden,"  said  the  Centaur,  "each  man  that" 
ever  lived  has  sojourned  for  a  little  while,  with  no  com 
pany  save  his  illusions.  I  must  tell  you  again  that  in  this 
garden  are  encountered  none  but  imaginary  creatures. 
And  stalwart  persons  take  their  hour  of  recreation  here, 
and  go  hence  unaccompanied,  to  become  aldermen  and 
respected  merchants  and  bishops,  and  to  be  admired  as 
captains  upon  prancing  horses,  or  even  as  kings  upon  tall 
thrones;  each  in  his  station  thinking  not  at  all  of  the 
garden  ever  any  more.  But  now  and  then  come  timid 


GARDEN   BETWEEN  DAWN  AND  SUNRISE        21 


persons,  Jurgen,  who  fear  to  leave  this  garden  without  an 
escort :  so  these  must  need  go  hence  with  one  or  another 
imaginary  creature,  to  guide  them  about  alleys  and  by 
paths,  because  imaginary  creatures  find  little  nourishment 
in  the  public  highways,  and  shun  them.  Thus  must  these 
timid  persons  skulk  about  obscurely  with  their  diffident  ^ 
and  skittish  guides,  and  they  do  not  ever  venture  willingly 
into  the  thronged  places  where  men  get  horses  and  build 
thrones." 

"And  what  becomes  of  these  timid  persons,  Centaur  ?" 

"Why,  sometimes  they  spoil  paper,  Jurgen,  and  some 
times  they  spoil  human  lives." 

"Then  are  these  accursed  persons,"  Jurgen  considered. 

"You  should  know  best,"  replied  the  Centaur. 

"Oh,  very  probably,"  said  Jurgen.  "Meanwhile  here 
is  one  who  walks  alone  in  this  garden,  and  I  wonder  to 
see  the  local  by-laws  thus  violated." 

Now  Nessus  looked  at  Jurgen  for  a  while  without 
speaking:  and  in  the  eyes  of  the  Centaur  was  so  much 
of  comprehension  and  compassion  that  it  troubled  Jurgen. 
For  somehow  it  made  Jurgen  fidget  and  consider  this  an 
unpleasantly  personal  way  of  looking  at  anybody. 

"Yes,  certainly,"  said  the  Centaur,  "this  woman  walks 
alone.  But  there  is  no  help  for  her  loneliness,  since  the 
lad  who  loved  this  woman  is  dead." 

"Nessus,  I  am  willing  to  be  reasonably  sorry  about  it. 
Still,  is  there  any  need  of  pulling  quite  such  a  portentously 
long  face?  After  all,  a  great  many  other  persons  have 
died,  off  and  on :  and  for  anything  I  can  say  to  the  con 
trary,  this  particular  young  fellow  may  have  been  no 
especial  loss  to  anybody." 

Again  the  Centaur  said,  "You  should  know  best." 


4. 

The  Dorothy  W^ho  Did  Not  Understand 


FOR  now  had  come  to  Jurgen  and  the  Centaur  a  gold- 
haired  woman,  clothed  all  in  white,  and  walking 
alone.  She  was  tall,  and  lovely  and  tender  to  regard : 
and  hers  was  not  the  red  and  white  comeliness  of  many 
ladies  that  were  famed  for  beauty,  but  rather  it  had  the 
even  glow  of  ivory.  Her  nose  was  large  and  high  in  the 
bridge,  her  flexible  mouth  was  not  of  the  smallest :  and  yet 
whatever  other  persons  might  have  said,  to  Jurgen  this 
woman's  countenance  was  in  all  things  perfect.  Perhaps 
this  was  because  he  never  saw  her  as  she  was.  For  cer 
tainly  the  color  of  her  eyes  stayed  a  matter  never  revealed 
to  him:  gray,  blue  or  green,  there  was  no  saying:  they 
varied  as  does  the  sea ;  but  always  these  eyes  were  lovely 
and  friendly  and  perturbing. 

Jurgen  remembered  that:  for  Jurgen  saw  this  was 
Count  Emmerick's  second  sister,  Dorothy  la  Desiree, 
whom  Jurgen  very  long  ago  (a  many  years  before  he  met 
Dame  Lisa  and  set  up  in  business  as  a  pawnbroker)  had 
hymned  in  innumerable  verses  as  Heart's  Desire. 

"And  this  is  the  only  woman  whom  I  ever  loved,"  Jur 
gen  remembered,  upon  a  sudden.  For  people  cannot 
always  be  thinking  of  these  matters. 

So  he  saluted  her,  with  such  deference  as  is  due  to  a 
countess  from  a  tradesman,  and  yet  with  unforgotten 

22 


THE  DOROTHY  WHO  DID  NOT  UNDERSTAND     23 


tremors  waking  in  his  staid  body.  But  the  strangest  was 
yet  to  be  seen,  for  he  noted  now  that  this  was  not  a  hand 
some  woman  in  middle  life  but  a  young  girl. 

"I  do  not  understand,"  he  said,  aloud:  "for  you  are 
Dorothy.  And  yet  it  seems  to  me  that  you  are  not  the 
Countess  Dorothy  who  is  Heitman  Michael's  wife." 

And  the  girl  tossed  her  fair  head,  with  that  careless 
lovely  gesture  which  the  Countess  had  forgotten.  "Heit 
man  Michael  is  well  enough,  for  a  nobleman,  and  my 
brother  is  at  me  day  and  night  to  marry  the  man:  and 
certainly  Heitman  Michael's  wife  will  go  in  satin  and 
diamonds  at  half  the  courts  of  Christendom,  with  many 
lackeys  to  attend  her.  But  I  am  not  to  be  thus  pur 
chased." 

"So  you  told  a  boy  that  I  remember,  very  long  ago. 
Yet  you  married  Heitman  Michael,  for  all  that,  and  in  the 
teeth  of  a  number  of  other  fine  declarations." 

"Oh,  no,  not  I,"  said  this  Dorothy,  wondering.  "I 
never  married  anybody.  And  Heitman  Michael  has 
never  married  anybody,  either,  old  as  he  is.  For  he  is 
twenty-eight,  and  looks  every  day  of  it!  But  who  are 
you,  friend,  that  have  such  curious  notions  about  me  ?" 

"That  question  I  will  answer,  just  as  though  it  were  put 
reasonably.  For  surely  you  perceive  I  am  Jurgen." 

"I  never  knew  but  one  Jurgen.  And  he  is  a  young  man, 
barely  come  of  age — "  Then  as  she  paused  in  speech, 
whatever  was  the  matter  upon  which  this  girl  now  medi 
tated,  her  cheeks  were  tenderly  colored  by  the  thought  of 
it,  and  in  her  knowledge  of  this  thing  her  eyes  took  infinite 
joy. 

And  Jurgen  understood.  He  had  come  back  somehow 
to  the  Dorothy  whom  he  had  loved :  but  departed,  and  past 


24  JURGEN 


overtaking  by  the  fleet  hoofs  of  centaurs,  was  the  boy  who 
had  once  loved  this  Dorothy,  and  who  had  rhymed  of  her 
as  his  Heart's  Desire :  and  in  the  garden  there  was  of  this 
boy  no  trace.  Instead,  the  girl  was  talking  to  a  staid  and 
paunchy  pawnbroker,  of  forty-and-something. 

So  Jurgen  shrugged,  and  looked  toward  the  Centaur: 
but  Nessus  had  discreetly  wandered  away  from  them,  in 
search  of  four-leafed  clovers.  Now  the  east  had  grown 
brighter,  and  its  crimson  began  to  be  colored  with  gold. 

"Yes,  I  have  heard  of  this  other  Jurgen,"  says  the 
pawnbroker.  "Oh,  Madame  Dorothy,  but  it  was  he  that 
loved  you !" 

"No  more  than  I  loved  him.  Through  a  whole  summer 
have  I  loved  Jurgen." 

And  the  knowledge  that  this  girl  spoke  a  wondrous 
truth  was  now  to  Jurgen  a  joy  that  was  keen  as  pain. 
And  he  stood  motionless  for  a  while,  scowling  and  biting 
his  lips. 

"I  wonder  how  long  the  poor  devil  loved  you!  He 
also  loved  for  a  whole  summer,  it  may  be.  And  yet  again, 
it  may  be  that  he  loved  you  all  his  life.  For  twenty  years 
and  for  more  than  twenty  years  I  have  debated  the 
matter :  and  I  am  as  well  informed  as  when  I  started." 

"But,  friend,  you  talk  in  riddles." 

"Is  not  that  customary  when  age  talks  with  youth? 
For  I  am  an  old  fellow,  in  my  forties:  and  you,  as  I 
know  now,  are  near  eighteen, — or  rather,  four  months 
short  of  being  eighteen,  for  it  is  August.  Nay,  more,  it 
is  the  August  of  a  year  I  had  not  looked  ever  to  see  again ; 
and  again  Dom  Manuel  reigns  over  us,  that  man  of  iron 
whom  I  saw  die  so  horribly.  All  this  seems  very  im 
probable." 


THE  DOROTHY  WHO  DID  NOT  UNDERSTAND    25 


Then  Jurgen  meditated  for  a  while.    He  shrugged. 

"Well,  and  what  could  anybody  expect  me  to  do  about 
it?  Somehow  it  has  befallen  that  I,  who  am  but  the 
shadow  of  what  I  was,  now  walk  among  shadows,  and  we 
converse  with  the  thin  intonations  of  dead  persons.  For, 
Madame  Dorothy,  you  who  are  not  yet  eighteen,  in  this 
same  garden  there  was  once  a  boy  who  loved  a  girl,  with 
such  love  as  it  puzzles  me  to  think  of  now.  I  believe  that 
she  loved  him.  Yes,  certainly  it  is  a  cordial  to  the  tired 
and  battered  heart  which  nowadays  pumps  blood  for  me, 
to  think  that  for  a  little  while,  for  a  whole  summer,  these 
two  were  as  brave  and  comely  and  clean  a  pair  of  sweet 
hearts  as  the  world  has  known." 

Thus  Jurgen  spoke.  But  his  thought  was  that  this  was 
a  girl  whose  equal  for  loveliness  and  delight  was  not  to 
be  found  between  two  oceans.  Long  and  long  ago  that 
doubtfulness  of  himself  which  was  closer  to  him  than  his 
skin  had  fretted  Jurgen  into  believing  the  Dorothy  he  had 
loved  was  but  a  piece  of  his  imaginings.  But  certainly 
this  girl  was  real.  And  sweet  she  was,  and  innocent  she 
was,  and  light  of  heart  and  feet,  beyond  the  reach  of  any 
man's  inventiveness.  No,  Jurgen  had  not  invented  her; 
and  it  strangely  contented  him  to  know  as  much. 

"Tell  me  your  story,  sir,"  says  she,  "for  I  love  all 
romances." 

"Ah,  my  dear  child,  but  I  cannot  tell  you  very  well  of 
just  what  happened.  As  I  look  back,  there  is  a  blinding 
glory  of  green  woods  and  lawns  and  moonlit  nights  and 
dance  music  and  unreasonable  laughter.  I  remember  her 
hair  and  eyes,  and  the  curving  and  the  feel  of  her  red 
mouth,  and  once  when  I  was  bolder  than  ordinary —  But 
that  is  hardly  worth  raking  up  at  this  late  day.  Well,  I 


26  JURGEN 


see  these  things  in  memory  as  plainly  as  I  now  seem  to 
see  your  face:  but  I  can  recollect  hardly  anything  she 
said.  Perhaps,  now  I  think  of  it,  she  was  not  very  intelli 
gent,  and  said  nothing  worth  remembering.  But  the  boy 
loved  her,  and  was  happy,  because  her  lips  and  heart  were 
his,  and  he,  as  the  saying  is,  had  plucked  a  diamond  from 
the  world's  ring.  True,  she  was  a  count's  daughter  and 
the  sister  of  a  count:  but  in  those  days  the  boy  quite 
firmly  intended  to  become  a  duke  or  an  emperor  or  some 
thing  of  that  sort,  so  the  transient  discrepancy  did  not 
worry  them.'* 

"I  know.  Why,  Jurgen  is  going  to  be  a  duke,  too," 
says  she,  very  proudly,  "though  he  did  think,  a  great  while 
ago,  before  he  knew  me,  of  being  a  cardinal,  on  account 
of  the  robes.  But  cardinals  are  not  allowed  to  marry,  you 
see —  And  I  am  forgetting  your  story,  too !  What  hap 
pened  then?" 

"They  parted  in  September — with  what  vows  it  hardly 
matters  now — and  the  boy  went  into  Gatinais,  to  win  his 
spurs  under  the  old  Vidame  de  Soyecourt.  And  presently 
— oh,  a  good  while  before  Christmas! — came  the  news 
that  Dorothy  la  Desiree  had  married  rich  Heitman 
Michael." 

"But  that  is  what  I  am  called!  And  as  you  know, 
there  is  a  Heitman  Michael  who  is  always  plaguing  me. 
Is  that  not  strange !  for  you  tell  me  all  this  happened  a 
great  while  ago." 

"Indeed,  the  story  is  very  old,  and  old  it  was  when 
Methuselah  was  teething.  There  is  no  older  and  more 
common  story  anywhere.  As  the  sequel,  it  would  be 
heroic  to  tell  you  this  boy's  life  was  ruined.  But  I  do 
not  think  it  was.  Instead,  he  had  learned  all  of  a  sudden 


THE  DOROTHY  WHO  DID  NOT  UNDERSTAND     2? 


that  which  at  twenty-one  is  heady  knowledge.  That  was 
the  hour  which  taught  him  sorrow  and  rage,  and  sneering, 
too,  for  a  redemption.  Oh,  it  was  armor  that  hour 
brought  him,  and  a  humor  to  use  it,  because  no  woman 
now  could  hurt  him  very  seriously.  No,  never  any  more !" 

"Ah,  the  poor  boy!"  she  said,  divinely  tender,  and 
smiling  as  a  goddess  smiles,  not  quite  in  mirth. 

"Well,  women,  as  he  knew  by  experience  now,  were  the 
pleasantest  of  playfellows.  So  he  began  to  play.  Ram 
paging  through  the  world  he  went  in  the  pride  of  his 
youth  and  in  the  armor  of  his  hurt.  And  songs  he  made 
for  the  pleasure  of  kings,  and  sword-play  he  made  for  the 
pleasure  of  men,  and  a  whispering  he  made  for  the 
pleasure  of  women,  in  places  where  renown  was,  and 
where  he  trod  boldly,  giving  pleasure  to  everybody,  in 
those  fine  days.  But  the  whispering,  and  all  that  fol 
lowed  the  whispering,  was  his  best  game,  and  the  game 
he  played  for  the  longest  while,  with  many  brightly 
colored  playmates  who  took  the  game  more  seriously  than 
he  did.  And  their  faith  in  the  game's  importance,  and 
in  him  and  his  high-sounding  nonsense,  he  very  often 
found  amusing:  and  in  their  other  chattels  too  he  took 
his  natural  pleasure.  Then,  when  he  had  played  suf 
ficiently,  he  held  a  consultation  with  divers  waning  appe 
tites  ;  and  he  married  the  handsome  daughter  of  an  esti 
mable  pawnbroker  in  a  fair  line  of  business.  And  he 
lived  with  his  wife  very  much  as  two  people  customarily 
live  together.  So,  all  in  all,  I  would  not  say  his  life 
was  ruined." 

"Why,  then,  it  was,"  said  Dorothy.  She  stirred  un 
easily,  with  an  impatient  sigh ;  and  you  saw  that  she  was 
vaguely  puzzled.  "Oh,  but  somehow  I  think  you  are  a 


28  JURGEN 


very  horrible  old  man :  and  you  seem  doubly  horrible  in 
that  glittering  queer  garment  you  are  wearing." 

"Xo  woman  ever  praised  a  woman's  handiwork,  and 
each  of  you  is  particularly  severe  upon  her  own.  But  you 
are  interrupting  the  saga." 

"I  do  not  see" — and  those  large  bright  eyes  of  which 
the  color  was  so  indeterminable  and  so  dear  to  Jurgen, 
seemed  even  larger  now — "but  I  do  not  see  how  there 
could  well  be  any  more." 

*' Still,  human  hearts  survive  the  benediction  of  the 
priest,  as  you  may  perceive  any  day.  This  man,  at  least, 
inherited  his  father-in-law's  business,  and  found  it,  quite 
as  he  had  anticipated,  the  fittest  of  vocations  for  a 
cashiered  poet.  And  so,  I  suppose,  he  was  content.  Ah, 
yes;  but  after  a  while  Heitman  Michael  returned  from 
foreign  parts,  along  with  his  lackeys,  and  plate,  and  chest 
upon  chest  of  merchandise,  and  his  fine  horses,  and  his 
wife.  And  he  who  had  been  her  lover  could  see  her 
now,  after  so  many  years,  whenever  he  liked.  She  wass 
a  handsome  stranger.  That  was  all.  She  was  rather 
stupid.  She  was  nothing  remarkable,  one  way  or  an 
other.  This  respectable  pawnbroker  saw  that  quite 
plainly:  day  by  day  he  writhed  under  the  knowledge. 
Because,  as  I  must  tell  you,  he  could  not  retain  com 
posure  in  her  presence,  even  now.  Xo,  he  was  never  able 
to  do  that." 

The  girl  somewhat  condensed  her  brows  over  this  in 
formation.  "You  mean  that  he  still  loved  her.  Why,  but 
of  course!" 

"My  child,"  says  Jurgen,  now  with  a  reproving  fore 
finger,  "you  are  an  incurable  romanticist.  The  man  dis 
liked  her  and  despised  her.  At  any  event,  he  assured 


THE  DOROTHY  WHO  DID  NOT  UNDERSTAND     29 

himself  that  he  did.  Well,  even  so,  this  handsome  stupid 
stranger  held  his  eyes,  and  muddled  his  thoughts,  and  put 
errors  into  his  accounts :  and  when  he  touched  her  hand 
he  did  not  sleep  that  night  as  he  was  used  to  sleep.  Thus 
he  saw  her,  day  after  day.  And  they  whispered  that  this 
handsome  and  stupid  stranger  had  a  liking  for  young 
men  who  aided  her  artfully  to  deceive  her  husband:  but 
she  never  showed  any  such  favor  to  the  respectable  pawn 
broker.  For  youth  had  gone  out  of  him,  and  it  seemed 
that  nothing  in  particular  happened.  Well,  that  was  his 
saga.  About  her  I  do  not  know.  And  I  shall  never 
know  !  But  certainly  she  got  the  name  of  deceiving  Heit- 
man  Michael  with  two  young  men,  or  with  five  young 
men  it  might  be,  but  never  with  a  respectable  pawn 
broker." 

"I  think  that  is  an  exceedingly  cynical  and  stupid 
story,"  observed  the  girl.  "And  so  I  shall  be  off  to 
look  for  Jurgen.  For  he  makes  love  very  amusingly," 
says  Dorothy,  with  the  sweetest,  loveliest  meditative  smile 
that  ever  was  lost  to  heaven. 

And  a  madness  came  upon  Jurgen,  there  in  the  garden 
between  dawn  and  sunrise,  and  a  disbelief  in  such  in 
justice  as  now  seemed  incredible. 

"No,  Heart's  Desire,"  he  cried,  "I  will  not  let  you  go. 
For  you  are  dear  and  pure  and  faithful,  and  all  my  evil 
dream,  wherein  you  were  a  wanton  and  befooled  me,  was 
not  true.  Surely,  mine  was  a  dream  that  can  never  be 
true  so  long  as  there  is  any  justice  upon  earth.  Why, 
there  is  no  imaginable  God  who  would  permit  a  boy  to 
be  robbed  of  that  which  in  my  evil  dream  was  taken  from 
me !" 


30  JURGEN 


"And  still  I  cannot  understand  your  talking,  about  this 
dream  of  yours — !" 

"Why,  it  seemed  to  me  I  had  lost  the  most  of  myself ; 
and  there  was  left  only  a  brain  which  played  with  ideas, 
and  a  body  that  went  delicately  down  pleasant  ways.  And 
I  could  not  believe  as  my  fellows  believed,  nor  could  I  love 
them,  nor  could  I  detect  anything  in  aught  they  said  or  did 
save  their  exceeding  folly:  for  I  had  lost  their  cordial 
common  faith  in  the  importance  of  what  use  they  made 
of  half-hours  and  months  and  years;  and  because  a  Jill- 
flirt  had  opened  my  eyes  so  that  they  saw  too  much,  I 
had  lost  faith  in  the  importance  of  my  own  actions,  too. 
There  was  a  little  time  of  which  the  passing  might  be 
made  endurable;  beyond  gaped  unpredictable  darkness: 
and  that  was  all  there  was  of  certainty  anywhere.  Now 
tell  me,  Heart's  Desire,  but  was  not  that  a  foolish  dream  ? 
For  these  things  never  happened.  Why,  it  would  not  be 
fair  if  these  things  ever  happened !'' 

And  the  girl's  eyes  were  wide  and  puzzled  and  a  little 
frightened.  "I  do  not  understand  what  you  are  saying : 
and  there  is  that  about  you  which  troubles  me  unspeak 
ably.  For  you  call  me  by  the  name  which  none  but  Jur- 
gen  used,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  you  are  Jurgen;  and 
yet  you  are  not  Jurgen." 

"But  I  am  truly  Jurgen.  And  look  you,  I  have  done 
what  never  any  man  has  done  before !  For  I  have  won 
back  to  that  first  love  whom -every  man  must  lose,  no 
matter  whom  he  marries.  I  have  come  back  again, 
passing  very  swiftly  over  the  grave  of  a  dream  and 
through  the  malice  of  time,  to  my  Heart's  Desire !  And 
how  strange  it  seems  that  I  did  not  know  this  thing  was 
inevitable !" 


THE  DOROTHY  WHO  DID  NOT  UNDERSTAND     31 


"Still,  friend,  I  do  not  understand  you." 

"Why,  but  I  yawned  and  fretted  in  preparation  for 
some  great  and  beautiful  adventure  which  was  to  befall 
me  by  and  by,  and  dazedly  I  toiled  forward.  Whereas 
behind  me  all  the  while  was  the  garden  between  dawn 
and  sunrise,  and  therein  you  awaited  me!  Now  assur 
edly,  the  life  of  every  man  is  a  quaintly  builded  tale,  in 
which  the  right  and  proper  ending  comes  first.  There 
after  time  runs  forward,  not  as  schoolmen  fable  in  a 
straight  line,  but  in  a  vast  closed  curve,  returning  to  the 
place  of  its  starting.  And  it  is  by  a  dim  foreknowledge 
of  this,  by  some  faint  prescience  of  justice  and  repara 
tion  being  given  them  by  and  by,  that  men  have  heart  to 
live.  For  I  know  now  that  I  have  always  known  this 
thing.  What  else  was  living  good  for  unless  it  brought 
me  back  to  you  ?" 

But  the  girl  shook  her  small  glittering  head,  very  sadly. 
"I  do  not  understand  you,  and  I  fear  you.  For  you  talk 
foolishness  and  in  your  face  I  see  the  face  of  Jurgen  as 
one  might  see  the  face  of  a  dead  man  drowned  in  muddy 
water." 

"Yet  am  I  truly  Jurgen,  and,  as  it  seems  to  me,  for 
the  first  time  since  we  were  parted.  For  I  am  strong  and 
admirable — even  I,  who  sneered  and  played  so  long,  be 
cause  I  thought  myself  a  thing  of  no  worth  at  all.  That 
which  has  been  since  you  and  I  were  young  together  is 
as  a  mist  that  passes :  and  I  am  strong  and  admirable,  and 
all  my  being  is  one  vast  hunger  for  you,  my  dearest,  and 
I  will  not  let  you  go,  for  you,  and  you  alone,  are  my 
Heart's  Desire." 

Now  the  girl  was  looking  at  him  very  steadily,  with  a 
small  puzzled  frown,  and  with  her  vivid  voun^  soft  lips 


32  JURGEN 


a  little  parted.  And  all  her  tender  loveliness  was  glorified 
by  the  light  of  a  sky  that  had  turned  to  dusty  palpitating 
gold. 

"Ah,  but  you  say  that  you  are  strong  and  admirable : 
and  I  can  only  marvel  at  such  talking.  For  I  see  that 
which  all  men  see." 

And  then  Dorothy  showed  him  the  little  mirror  which 
was  attached  to  the  long  chain  of  turquoise  matrix  about 
her  neck :  and  Jurgen  studied  the  frightened  foolish  aged 
face  that  he  found  in  the  mirror. 

Thus  drearily  did  sanity  return  to  Jurgen:  and  his 
flare  of  passion  died,  and  the  fever  and  storm  and  the 
impetuous  whirl  of  things  was  ended,  and  the  man  was 
very  weary.  And  in  the  silence  he  heard  the  piping  cry 
of  a  bird  that  seemed  to  seek  for  what  it  could  not  find. 

"Well,  I  am  answered,"  said  the  pawnbroker:  "and 
yet  I  know  that  this  is  not  the  final  answer.  Dearer  than 
any  hope  of  heaven  was  that  moment  when  awed  sur 
mises  first  awoke  as  to  the  new  strange  loveliness  which  1 
had  seen  in  the  face  of  Dorothy.  It  was  then  I  noted  the 
new  faint  flush  suffusing  her  face  from  chin  to  brow  so 
often  as  my  eyes  encountered  and  found  new  lights  in  the 
shining  eyes  which  were  no  longer  entirely  frank  in  meet 
ing  mine.  Well,  let  that  be,  for  I  do  not  love  Heitman 
Michael's  wife. 

"It  is  a  grief  to  remember  how  we  followed  love,  and 
found  his  service  lovely.  It  is  bitter  to  recall  the  sweet 
ness  of  those  vows  which  proclaimed  her  mine  eternally, 
— vows  that  were  broken  in  their  making  by  prolonged 
and  unforgotten  kisses.  We  used  to  laugh  at  Heitman 
Michael  then ;  we  used  to  laugh  at  everything.  Thus  for 
a  while,  for  a  whole  summer,  we  were  as  brave  and 


THE  DOROTHY  WHO  DID  NOT  UNDERSTAND  33 


comely  and  clean  a  pair  of  sweethearts  as  the  world  has 
known.  But  let  that  be,  for  I  do  not  love  Heitman 
Michael's  wife. 

"Our  love  was  fair  but  short-lived.  There  is  none 
that  may  revive  him  since  the  small  feet  of  Dorothy  trod 
out  this  small  love's  life.  Yet  when  this  life  of  ours  too 
is  over — this  parsimonious  life  which  can  allow  us  no 
more  love  for  anybody, — must  we  not  win  back,  some 
how,  to  that  faith  we  vowed  against  eternity  ?  and  be  con 
tent  again,  in  some  fair-colored  realm?  Assuredly  I 
think  this  thing  will  happen.  Well,  but  let  that  be,  for  I 
do  not  love  Heitman  Michael's  wife." 

"Why,  this  is  excellent  hearing,"  observed  Dorothy, 
"because  I  see  that  you  are  converting  your  sorrow  into 
the  raw  stuff  of  verses.  So  I  shall  be  off  to  look  for 
Jurgen,  since  he  makes  love  quite  otherwise  and  far  more 
amusingly." 

And  again,  whatever  was  the  matter  upon  which  this 
girl  now  meditated,  her  cheeks  were  tenderly  colored  by 
the  thought  of  it,  and  in  her  knowledge  of  this  thing  her 
eyes  took  infinite  joy. 

Thus  it  was  for  a  moment  only:  for  she  left  Jurgen 
now,  with  the  friendliest  light  waving  of  her  hand;  ancf 
so  passed  from  him,  not  thinking  of  this  old  fellow  any 
longer,  as  he  could  see,  even  in  the  instant  she  turned 
from  him.  And  she  went  toward  the  dawn,  in  search  of 
that  young  Jurgen  whom  she,  who  was  perfect  in  all 
things,  had  loved,  though  only  for  a  little  while,  not 
undeservedly. 


5. 

Requirements  of  Bread  and  Butter 


/  /  "1^  T  ESSUS,"  says  Jurgen,  "  and  am  I  so  changed? 
^J  For  that  Dorothy  whom  I  loved  in  youth  did 
-*•  ^  not  know  me." 

"Good  and  evil  keep  very  exact  accounts/'  replied  the 
Centaur,  "and  the  face  of  every  man  is  their  ledger. 
Meanwhile  the  sun  rises,  it  is  already  another  workday: 
and  when  the  shadows  of  those  two  who  come  to  take 
possession  fall  full  upon  the  garden,  I  warn  you,  there 
will  be  astounding  changes  brought  about  by  the  require 
ments  of  bread  and  butter.  You  have  not  time  to  revive 
old  memories  by  chatting  with  the  others  to  whom  you 
babbled  aforetime  in  this  garden." 

"Ah,  Centaur,  in  the  garden  between  dawn  and  sun 
rise  there  was  never  any  other  save  Dorothy  la  Desiree." 

The  Centaur  shrugged.  "It  may  be  you  forget;  it  is 
certain  that  you  underestimate  the  local  population. 
Some  of  the  transient  visitors  you  have  seen,  and  in 
addition  hereabouts  dwell  the  year  round  all  manner  of 
imaginary  creatures.  The  fairies  live  just  southward, 
and  the  gnomes  too.  To  your  right  is  the  realm  of  the 
Valkyries :  the  Amazons  and  the  Cynocephali  are  their 
allies :  all  three  of  these  nations  are  continually  at  logger 
heads  with  their  neighbors,  the  Baba-Yagas,  whom 
Morfei  cooks  for,  and  whose  monarch  is  Oh,  a  person 

34 


REQUIREMENTS  OF  BREAD  AND  BUTTER         35 


very  dangerous  to  name.  Northward  dwell  the  Lepra- 
cauns  and  the  Men  of  Hunger,  whose  king  is  Clobhair. 
My  people,  who  are  ruled  by  Chiron,  live  even  further  to 
the  north.  The  Sphinx  pastures  on  yonder  mountain ; 
and  now  the  Chimsera  is  old  and  generally  derided,  they 
say  that  Cerberus  visits  the  Sphinx  at  twilight,  although 
I  was  never  the  person  to  disseminate  scandal — " 

"Centaur,"  said  Jurgen,  "and  what  is  Dorothy  doing 
here?" 

"Why,  all  the  women  that  any  man  has  ever  loved  live 
here,"  replied  the  Centaur,  "for  very  obvious  reasons." 

"That  is  a  hard  saying,  friend." 

Nessus  tapped  with  his  forefinger  upon  the  back  of 
Jurgen's  hand.  "Worm's-meat !  this  is  the  destined  food, 
do  what  you  will,  of  small  white  worms.  This  by  and 
by  will  be  a  struggling  pale  corruption,  like  seething 
milk.  That  too  is  a  hard  saying,  Jurgen.  But  it  is  a 
true  saying." 

"And  was  that  Dorothy  whom  I  loved  in  youth  an 
imaginary  creature?" 

"My  poor  Jurgen,  you  who  were  once  a  poet !  she  was 
your  masterpiece.  For  there  was  only  a  shallow,  stupid 
and  airy,  high-nosed  and  light-haired  miss,  with  no  re 
markable  good  looks, — and  consider  what  your  ingenuity 
made  from  such  poor  material !  You  should  be  proud  of 
yourself." 

"No,  Centaur,  I  cannot  very  well  be  proud  of  my 
folly:  yet  I  do  not  regret  it.  I  have  been  befooled  by  a 
bright  shadow  of  my  own  raising,  you  tell  me,  and  I 
concede  it  to  be  probable.  No  less,  I  served  a  lovely 
shadow;  and  my  heart  will  keep  the  memory  of  that 
loveliness  until  life  ends,  in  a  world  where  other  men 


36  JURGEN 


follow  pantingly  after  shadows  which  are  not  even 
pretty." 

"There  is  something  in  that,  Jurgen:  there  is  also 
something  in  an  old  tale  we  used  to  tell  in  Thessaly, 
about  a  fox  and  certain  grapes." 

"Well,  but  look  you,  Nessus,  there  is  an  emperor  that 
reigns  now  in  Constantinople  and  occasionally  does  busi 
ness  with  me.  Yes,  and  I  could  tell  you  tales  of  by 
what  shifts  he  came  to  the  throne — " 

"Men's  hands  are  by  ordinary  soiled  in  climbing," 
quoth  the  Centaur. 

"And  'Jurgen/  this  emperor  says  to  me,  not  many 
months  ago,  as  he  sat  in  his  palace,  crowned  and  dreary 
and  trying  to  cheat  me  out  of  my  fair  profit  on  some 
emeralds, — 'Jurgen>  I  cannot  sleep  of  nights,  because  of 
that  fool  Alexius,  who  comes  into  my  room  with  staring 
eyes  and  the  bowstring  still  about  his  neck.  And  my 
Varangians  must  be  in  league  with  that  silly  ghost,  be 
cause  I  constantly  order  them  to  keep  Alexius  out  of  my 
bedchamber,  and  they  do  not  obey  me,  Jurgen.  To  be 
King  of  the  East  is  not  to  the  purpose,  Jurgen,  when  one 
must  submit  to  such  vexations/  Yes,  it  was  Caesar 
Palaeologus  himself  said  this  to  me:  and  I  deduce  the 
shadow  of  a  crown  has  led  him  into  an  ugly  pickle,  for 
all  that  he  is  the  mightiest  monarch  in  the  world.  And 
I  would  not  change  with  Caesar  Palaeologus,  not  I  who 
am  a  respectable  pawnbroker,  with  my  home  in  fee  and 
my  bit  of  tilled  land.  Well,  this  is  a  queer  world,  to 
be  sure :  and  this  garden  is  visited  by  no  stranger  things 
than  pop  into  a  man's  mind  sometimes,  without  his 
knowing  how." 

"Ah,   but    you   must    understand   that   the   garden    is 


REQUIREMENTS  OF  BREAD  AND  BUTTER    37 


speedily  to  be  remodeled.  Yonder  you  may  observe  the 
two  whose  requirements  are  to  rid  the  place  of  all  fantas 
tic  unremunerative  notions;  and  who  will  develop  the* 
natural  resources  of  this  garden  according  to  generally 
approved  methods." 

And  from  afar  Jurgen  could  see  two  figures  coming 
out  of  the  east,  so  tall  that  their  heads  rose  above  the 
encircling  hills  and  glistened  in  the  rays  of  a  sun  which 
was  not  yet  visible.  One  was  a  white  pasty-looking 
giant,  with  a  crusty  expression:  he  walked  with  the  aid 
of  a  cane.  The  other  was  of  a  pale  yellow  color:  his 
face  was  oily,  and  he  rode  on  a  vast  cow  that  was 
called  ^Sdhumla. 

"Make  way  there,  brother,  with  your  staff  of  life,"  says 
the  yellow  giant,  "for  there  is  much  to  do  hereabouts." 

"Ay,  brother,  this  place  must  be  altered  a  deal  before 
it  meets  with  our  requirements,"  the  other  grumbled. 
"May  I  be  toasted  if  I  know  where  to  begin !" 

Then  as  the  giants  turned  dull  and  harsh  faces  toward 
the  garden,  the  sun  came  above  the  circle  of  blue  hills, 
so  that  the  mingled  shadows  of  these  two  giants  fell 
across  the  garden.  For  an  instant  Jurgen  saw  the  place 
oppressed  by  that  attenuated  mile-long  shadow,  as  in 
heraldry  you  may  see  a  black  bar  painted  sheer  across 
some  brightly  emblazoned  shield.  Then  the  radiancy  of 
everything  twitched  and  vanished,  as  a  bubble  bursts. 

And  Jurgen  was  standing  in  the  midst  of  a  field,  very 
neatly  plowed,  but  with  nothing  as  yet  growing  in  it. 
And  the  Centaur  was  with  him  still,  it  seemed,  for  there 
were  the  creature's  hoofs,  but  all  the  gold  had  been 
washed  or  rubbed  away  from  them  in  traveling  with 
Jurgen. 


38  JURGEN 


"See,  Nessus !"  Jurgen  cried,  "the  garden  is  made  deso 
late.  Oh,  Nessus,  was  it  fair  that  so  much  loveliness' 
should  be  thus  wasted !" 

"Nay,"  said  the  Centaur,  "nay!"  Long  and  wailingly 
he  whinneyed,  "Nay !" 

And  when  Jurgen  raised  his  eyes  he  saw  that  his  com 
panion  was  not  a  centaur,  but  only  a  strayed  riding-horse. 

"Were  you  the  animal,  then,"  says  Jurgen,  "and  was 
it  a  quite  ordinary  animal,  that  conveyed  me  to  the  garden 
between  dawn  and  sunrise?"  And  Jurgen  laughed  dis 
consolately.  "At  all  events,  you  have  clothed  me  in  a 
curious  fine  shirt.  And,  now  I  look,  your  bridle  is 
marked  with  a  coronet.  So  I  will  return  you  to  the 
castle  at  Bellegarde,  and  it  may  be  that  Heitman  Michael 
will  reward  me." 

Then  Jurgen  mounted  this  horse  and  rode  away  from 
the  plowed  field  wherein  nothing  grew  as  yet.  As  they 
left  the  furrows  they  came  to  a  signboard  with  writing 
on  it,  in  a  peculiar  red  and  yellow  lettering. 

Jurgen  paused  to  decipher  this. 

"Read  me!"  was  written  on  the  signboard:  "read  me, 
and  judge  if  you  understand!  So  you  stopped  in  your 
journey  because  I  called,  scenting  something  unusual, 
something  droll.  Thus,  although  I  am  nothing,  and  even 
less,  there  is  no  one  that  sees  me  but  lingers  here. 
Stranger,  I  am  a  law  of  the  universe.  Stranger,  render 
the  law  what  is  due  the  law !" 

Jurgen  felt  cheated.  "A  very  foolish  signboard,  in 
deed!  for  how  can  it  be  'a  law  of  the  universe',  when 
there  is  no  meaning  to  it!"  says  Jurgen.  "Why,  for 
any  law  to  be  meaningless  would  not  be  fair." 


6. 

Showing  that  Sereda  Is  Feminine 


THEN,  having  snapped  his  fingers  at  that  foolish 
signboard,  Jurgen  would  have  turned  easterly, 
toward  Bellegarde:  but  his  horse  resisted.  The 
pawnbroker  decided  to  accept  this  as  an  omen. 

"Forward,  then !"  he  said,  "in  the  name  of  Koshchei." 
And  thereafter  Jurgen  permitted  the  horse  to  choose  its 
own  way. 

Thus  Jurgen  came  through  a  forest,  wherein  he  saw 
many  things  not  salutary  to  notice,  to  a  great  stone 
house  like  a  prison,  and  he  sought  shelter  there.  But  he 
sould  find  nobody  about  the  place,  until  he  came  to  a 
large  hall,  newly  swept.  This  was  a  depressing  apart 
ment,  in  its  chill  neat  emptiness,  for  it  was  unfurnished 
save  for  a  bare  deal  table,  upon  which  lay  a  yardstick 
and  a  pair  of  scales.  Above  this  table  hung  a  wicker 
cage,  containing  a  blue  bird,  and  another  wicker  cage  con 
taining  three  white  pigeons.  And  in  this  hall  a  woman, 
no  longer  young,  dressed  all  in  blue,  and  wearing  a  white 
towel  by  way  of  head-dress  was  assorting  curiously 
colored  cloths. 

She  had  very  bright  eyes,  with  wrinkled  lids ;  and  now 
as  she  looked  up  at  Jurgen  her  shrunk  jaws  quivered. 

"Ah,"  says  she,  "I  have  a  visitor.  Good  day  to  you, 

39 


40  JURGEN 


in  your  glittering  shirt.  It  is  a  garment  I  seem  to  recog 
nize." 

"Good  day,  grandmother!  I  am  looking  for  my  wife, 
whom  I  suspect  to  have  been  carried  or!  by  a  devil,  poor 
fellow !  Now,  having  lost  my  way,  I  have  come  to  pass 
the  night  under  your  roof." 

"Very  good :  but  few  come  seeking  Mother  Sereda  of 
their  own  accord." 

Then  Jurgen  kne\v  with  whom  he  talked :  and  inwardly 
he  was  perturbed,  for  all  the  Leshy  are  unreliable  in 
their  dealings. 

So  when  he  spoke  it  was  very  civilly.  "And  what 
do  you  do  here,  grandmother  ?" 

"I  bleach.  In  time  I  shall  bleach  that  garment  you 
are  wearing.  For  I  take  the  color  out  of  all  things. 
Thus  you  see  these  stuffs  here,  as  they  are  now.  Clotho 
spun  the  glowing  threads,  and  Lachesis  wove  them,  as 
you  observe,  in  curious  patterns,  very  marvelous  to  see: 
but  when  I  am  done  with  these  stuffs  there  will  be  no 
more  color  or  beauty  or  strangeness  anywhere  apparent 
than  in  so  many  dishclouts." 

"Xow  I  preceive,"  says  Jurgen,  "that  your  power  and 
dominion  is  more  great  than  any  other  power  which  is 
in  the  world." 

He  made  a  song  of  this,  in  praise  of  the  Leshy  and 
their  Days,  but  more  especially  in  praise  of  the  might 
of  Mother  Sereda  and  of  the  ruins  that  have  fallen  on 
Wednesday.  To  Chetverg  and  Utornik  and  Subbota  he 
gave  their  due.  Pyatinka  and  Xedelka  also  did  Jurgen 
commend  for  such  demolishments  as  have  enregistered 
their  names  in  the  calendar  of  saints,  no  less.  Ah,  but 
there  was  none  like  Mother  Sereda:  hers  was  the  centre 


SHOWING  THAT  SEREDA  IS  FEMININE  41 


of  that  power  which  is  the  Leshy's.  The  others  did  but 
nibble  at  temporal  things,  like  furtive  mice:  she  devas 
tated,  like  a  sandstorm,  so  that  there  were  many  dust- 
heaps  where  Mother  Sereda  had  passed,  but  nothing  else. 

And  so  on,  and  so  on.  The  song  was  no  masterpiece, 
and  would  not  be  bettered  by  repetition.  But  it  was  all 
untrammeled  eulogy,  and  the  old  woman  beat  time  to 
it  with  her  lean  hands:  and  her  shrunk  jaws  quivered, 
and  she  nodded  her  white-wrapped  head  this  way  and 
that  way,  with  a  rolling  motion,  and  on  her  thin  lips  was 
a  very  proud  and  foolish  smile. 

"That  is  a  good  song,"  says  she ;  "oh,  yes,  an  excellent 
song !  But  you  report  nothing  of  my  sister  Pandelis  who 
controls  the  day  of  the  Moon." 

"Monday!"  says  Jurgen:  "yes,  I  neglected  Monday, 
perhaps  because  she  is  the  oldest  of  you,  but  in  part 
because  of  the  exigencies  of  my  rhyme  scheme.  We  must 
let  Pandelis  go  unhymned.  How  can  I  remember  every 
thing  when  I  consider  the  might  of  Sereda?" 

"Why,  but,"  says  Mother  Sereda,  "Pandelis  may  not 
like  it,  and  she  may  take  holiday  from  her  washing  some 
day  to  have  a  word  with  you.  However,  I  repeat,  that  is 
an  excellent  song.  And  in  return  for  your  praise  of  me, 
I  will  tell  you  that,  if  your  wife  has  been  carried  off  by 
a  devil,  your  affair  is  one  which  Koshchei  alone  can 
remedy.  Assuredly,  I  think  it  is  to  him  you  must  go  for 
justice." 

"But  how  may  I  come  to  him,  grandmother?" 

"Oh,  as  to  that,  it  does  not  matter  at  all  which  road 
you  follow.  All  highways,  as  the  saying  is,  lead  round 
about  to  Koshchei.  The  one  thing  needful  is  not  to  stand 
still.  This  much  I  will  tell  you  also  for  your  song's  sake, 


42  JURGEN 


because  that  was  an  excellent  song,  and  nobody  ever 
made  a  song  in  praise  of  me  before  to-day." 

Now  Jurgen  wondered  to  see  what  a  simple  old 
creature  was  this  Mother  Sereda,  who  sat  before  him 
shaking  and  grinning  and  frail  as  a  dead  leaf,  with  her 
head  wrapped  in  a  common  kitchen-towel,  and  whose 
power  was  so  enormous. 

"To  think  of  it,"  Jurgen  reflected,  "that  the  world  I 
inhabit  is  ordered  by  beings  who  are  not  one-tenth  so 
clever  as  I  am !  I  have  often  suspected  as  much,  and  it 
is  decidedly  unfair.  Now  let  me  see  if  I  cannot  make 
something  out  of  being  such  a  monstrous  clever  fellow." 

Jurgen  said  aloud :  "I  do  not  wonder  that  no  practising 
poet  ever  presumed  to  make  a  song  of  you.  You  are  too' 
majestical.  You  frighten  these  rhymesters,  who  feel 
themselves  to  be  unworthy  of  so  great  a  theme.  So  it 
remained  for  you  to  be  appreciated  by  a  pawnbroker, 
since  it  is  we  who  handle  and  observe  the  treasures  of 
this  world  after  you  have  handled  them." 

"Do  you  think  so?"  says  she,  more  pleased  than  ever. 
"Now,  may  be  that  was  the  way  of  it.  But  I  wonder 
that  you  who  are  so  fine  a  poet  should  ever  have  become  a 
pawnbroker." 

"Well,  and  indeed,  Mother  Sereda,  your  wonder  seems 
to  me  another  wonder :  for  I  can  think  of  no  profession 
better  suited  to  a  retired  poet.  Why,  there  is  the  variety 
of  company!  for  high  and  low  and  even  the  genteel  are 
pressed  sometimes  for  money :  then  the  plowman  slouches 
into  my  shop,  and  the  duke  sends  for  me  privately.  So 
the  people  I  know,  and  the  bits  of  their  lives  I  pop  into, 
give  me  a  deal  to  romance  about." 

"Ah,  yes,  indeed,"  says  Mother  Sereda,  wisely,  "that 


SHOWING  THAT  SEREDA  IS  FEMININE  43 


well  may  be  the  case.  But  I  do  not  hold  with  romance, 
myself." 

' 'Moreover,  sitting  in  my  shop,  I  wait  there  quiet-like 
while  tribute  comes  to  me  from  the  ends  of  earth :  every 
thing  which  men  and  women  have  valued  anywhere  comes 
sooner  or  later  to  me:  and  jewels  and  fine  knickknacks 
that  were  the  pride  of  queens  they  bring  me,  and  wedding 
rings,  and  the  baby's  cradle  with  his  little  tooth  marks 
on  the  rim  of  it,  and  silver  coffin-handles,  or  it  may  be 
an  old  frying-pan,  they  bring  me,  but  all  comes  to  Jurgen. 
So  that  just  to  sit  there  in  my  dark  shop  quiet-like,  and 
wonder  about  the  history  of  my  belongings  and  how  they 
were  made  mine,  is  poetry,  and  is  the  deep  and  high  and 
ancient  thinking  of  a  god  who  is  dozing  among  what  time 
has  left  of  a  dead  world,  if  you  understand  me,  Mother 
Sereda." 

"I  understand :  oho,  I  understand  that  which  pertains 
to  gods,  for  a  sufficient  reason." 

"And  then  another  thing,  you  do  not  need  any  turn 
for  business :  people  are  glad  to  get  whatever  you  choose 
to  offer,  for  they  would  not  come  otherwise.  So  you  get 
the  shining  and  rough-edged  coins  that  you  can  feel  the 
proud  king's  head  on,  with  his  laurel-wreath  like  millet 
seed  under  your  fingers ;  and  you  get  the  flat  and  greenish 
coins  that  are  smeared  with  the  titles  and  the  chins  and 
hooked  noses  of  emperors  whom  nobody  remembers  or 
cares  about  any  longer:  all  just  by  waiting  there  quiet- 
like,  and  making  a  favor  of  it  to  let  customers  give  you 
their  belongings  for  a  third  of  what  they  are  worth.  And 
that  is  easy  labor,  even  for  a  poet." 

"I  understand:  I  understand  all  labor." 

"And  people  treat  you  a  deal  more  civilly  than  any  real 


44  JURGEN 


need  is,  because  they  are  ashamed  of  trafficking  with  you 
at  all :  I  dispute  if  a  poet  could  get  such  civility  shown  him 
in  any  other  profession.  And  finally,  there  is  the  long 
idleness  between  business  interviews,  with  nothing  to  do 
save  sit  there  quiet-like  and  think  about  the  queerness  of 
things  in  general :  and  that  is  always  rare  employment  for 
a  poet,  even  without  the  tatters  of  so  many  lives  and 
homes  heaped  up  about  him  like  spillikins.  So  that  I 
would  say  in  all,  Mother  Sereda,  there  is  certainly  no 
profession  better  suited  to  an  old  poet  than  the  profession 
of  pawnbroking." 

"Certainly,  there  may  be  something  in  what  you  tell 
me,"  observes  Mother  Sereda.  "I  know  what  the  Little 
Gods  are,  and  I  know  what  work  is,  but  I  do  not  think 
about  these  other  matters,  nor  about  anything  else.  I 
bleach." 

"Ah,  and  a  great  deal  more  I  could  be  saying,  too, 
godmother,  but  for  the  fear  of  wearying  you.  Nor  would 
I  have  run  on  at  all  about  my  private  affairs  were  it  not 
that  we  two  are  so  close  related.  And  kith  makes  kind, 
as  people  say." 

"But  how  can  you  and  I  be  kin?" 

"Why,  heyday,  and  was  I  not  born  upon  a  Wednesday  ? 
That  makes  you  my  godmother,  does  it  not  ?" 

"I  do  not  know,  dearie,  I  am  sure.  Nobody  ever  cared 
to  claim  kin  with  Mother  Sereda  before  this,"  says  she, 
pathetically. 

"There  can  be  no  doubt,  though,  on  the  point,  no 
possible  doubt.  Sabellius  states  it  plainly.  Artemidorus 
Minor,  I  grant  you,  holds  the  question  debatable,  but  his 
reasons  for  doing  so  are  tolerably  notorious.  Besides, 
what  does  all  his  flimsy  sophistry  avail  against  Nicanor's 


SHOWING  THAT  SEREDA  IS  FEMININE  45 


fine  chapter  on  this  very  subject?  Crushing,  I  consider 
it.  His  logic  is  final  and  irrefutable.  What  can  anyone 
say  against  Saevius  Nicanor? — ah,  what  indeed?"  de 
manded  Jurgen. 

And  he  wondered  if  there  might  not  have  been  per 
chance  some  such  persons  somewhere,  after  all.  Their 
names,  in  any  event,  sounded  very  plausible  to  Jurgen. 

"Ah,  dearie,  I  was  never  one  for  learning.  It  may  be 
as  you  say." 

"You  say  'it  may  be',  godmother.  That  embarrasses 
me,  rather,  because  I  was  about  to  ask  for  my  christening 
gift,  which  in  the  press  of  other  matters  you  overlooked 
some  forty  years  back.  You  will  readily  conceive  that 
your  negligence,  however  unintentional,  might  possibly 
give  rise  to  unkindly  criticism:  and  so  I  felt  I  ought  to 
mention  it,  in  common  fairness  to  you." 

"As  for  that,  dearie,  ask  what  you  will  within  the 
limits  of  my  power.  For  mine  are  all  the  sapphires  and 
turquoises  and  whatever  else  in  this  dusty  world  is  blue ; 
and  mine  likewise  are  all  the  Wednesdays  that  have  ever 
been  or  ever  will  be :  and  any  one  of  these  will  I  freely 
give  you  in  return  for  your  fine  speeches  and  your  tender 
heart." 

"Ah,  but,  godmother,  would  it  be  quite  just  for  you  to 
accord  me  so  much  more  than  is  granted  to  other 
persons?" 

"Why,  no:  but  what  have  I  to  do  with  justice?  I 
bleach.  Come  now,  then,  do  you  make  a  choice!  for  I 
can  assure  you  that  my  sapphires  are  of  the  first  water, 
and  that  many  of  my  oncoming  Wednesdays  will  be  well 
worth  seeing." 

"No,  godmother,  I  never  greatly  cared  for  jewelry: 


46  JURGEN 


and  the  future  is  but  dressing  and  undressing,  and 
shaving,  and  eating,  and  computing  percentage,  and  so 
on;  the  future  does  not  interest  me  now.  So  I  shall 
modestly  content  myself  with  a  second-hand  Wednesday, 
with  one  that  you  have  used  and  have  no  further  need 
of :  and  it  will  be  a  Wednesday  in  the  August  of  such  and 
such  a  year." 

Mother  Sereda  agreed  to  this.  "But  there  are  certain 
rules  to  be  observed,"  says  she,  "for  one  must  have  sys 
tem." 

As  she  spoke,  she  undid  the  towel  about  her  head,  and 
she  took  a  blue  comb  from  her  white  hair:  and  she 
showed  Jurgen  what  was  engraved  on  the  comb.  It 
frightened  Jurgen,  a  little:  but  he  nodded  assent. 

"First,  though,"  says  Mother  Sereda,  "here  is  the  blue 
bird.  Would  you  not  rather  have  that,  dearie,  than  your 
Wednesday?  Most  people  would." 

"Ah,  but,  godmother,"  he  replied,  "  I  am  Jurgen.  No, 
it  is  not  the  blue  bird  I  desire." 

So  Mother  Sereda  took  from  the  wall  the  wicker  cage 
containing  the  three  white  pigeons :  and  going  before  him, 
with  small  hunched  shoulders,  and  shuffling  her  feet  along 
the  flagstones,  she  led  the  way  into  a  courtyard,  where, 
sure  enough,  they  found  a  tethered  he-goat.  Of  a  dark 
blue  color  this  beast  was,  and  his  eyes  were  wiser  than  the 
eyes  of  a  beast. 

Then  Jurgen  set  about  that  which  Mother  Sereda  said 
was  necessary. 


7. 

Of  Compromises  on  a  Wednesday 


SO  it  was  that,  riding  upon  a  horse  whose  bridle  was 
marked  with  a  coronet,  the  pawnbroker  returned  to 
a  place,  and  to  a  moment,  which  he  remembered. 
It  was  rather  queer  to  be  a  fine  young  fellow  again,  and 
to  foresee  all  that  was  to  happen  for  the  next  twenty 
years. 

As  it  chanced,  the  first  person  he  encountered  was  his 
mother  Azra,  whom  Coth  had  loved  very  greatly  but  not 
long.  And  Jurgen  talked  with  Azra  of  what  clothes  he 
would  be  likely  to  need  in  Gatinais,  and  of  how  often  he 
would  write  to  her.  She  disparaged  the  new  shirt  he  was 
wearing,  as  was  to  be  expected,  since  Azra  had  always 
preferred  to  select  her  son's  clothing  rather  than  trust  to 
Jurgen's  taste.  His  new  horse  she  admitted  to  be  a  hand 
some  animal;  and  only  hoped  he  had  not  stolen  it  from 
anybody  who  would  get  him  into  trouble.  For  Azra,  it 
must  be  recorded,  had  never  any  confidence  in  her  son ; 
and  was  the  only  woman,  Jurgen  felt,  who  really  under 
stood  him. 

And  now  as  his  beautiful  young  mother  impartially 
petted  and  snapped  at  him,  poor  Jurgen  thought  of  that 
very  real  dissension  and  severance  which  in  the  oncoming 
years  was  to  arise  between  them ;  and  of  how  she  would 
die  without  his  knowing  of  her  death  for  two  whole 

47 


48  JURGEN 


months ;  and  of  how  his  life  thereafter  would  be  changed, 
somehow,  and  the  world  would  become  an  unstable  place 
in  which  you  could  no  longer  put  cordial  faith.  And  he 
foreknew  all  the  remorse  he  was  to  shrug  away,  after  the 
squandering  of  so  much  pride  and  love.  But  these  things 
were  not  yet :  and  besides,  these  things  were  inevitable. 

"And  yet  that  these  things  should  be  inevitable  is  de 
cidedly  not  fair,"  said  Jurgen. 

So  it  was  with  all  the  persons  he  encountered.  The 
people  whom  he  loved  when  at  his  best  as  a  fine  young 
fellow  were  so  very  soon,  and  through  petty  causes,  to  be 
come  nothing  to  him,  and  he  himself  was  to  be  converted 
into  a  commonplace  tradesman.  And  living  seemed  to 
Jurgen  a  wasteful  and  inequitable  process. 

Then  Jurgen  left  the  home  of  his  youth,  and  rode 
toward  Bellegarde,  and  tethered  his  horse  upon  the  heath, 
and  went  into  the  castle.  Thus  Jurgen  came  to  Dorothy. 
She  was  lovely  and  dear,  and  yet,  by  some  odd  turn,  not 
quite  so  lovely  and  dear  as  the  Dorothy  he  had  seen  in 
the  garden  between  dawn  and  sunrise.  And  Dorothy,  like 
everybody  else,  praised  Jurgen's  wonderful  new  shirt. 

"It  is  designed  for  such  festivals,"  said  Jurgen, 
modestly — "a  little  notion  of  my  own.  A  bit  extreme, 
some  persons  might  consider  it,  but  there  is  no  pleasing 
everybody.  And  I  like  a  trifle  of  color." 

For  there  was  a  masque  that  night  at  the  castle  of 
Bellegarde :  and  wildly  droll  and  sad  it  was  to  Jurgen  to 
remember  what  was  to  befall  so  many  of  the  participants. 

Jurgen  had  not  forgotten  this  Wednesday,  this  ancient 
Wednesday  upon  which  Messire  de  Montors  had  brought 
the  Confraternity  of  St.  Medard  from  Brunbelois,  to 
enact  a  masque  of  The  Birth  of  Hercules,  as  the  vaga- 


OF  COMPROMISES  ON  A  WEDNESDAY  49 


bonds  were  now  doing,  to  hilarious  applause.  Jurgen 
remembered  it  was  the  day  before  Bellegarde  discovered 
that  Count  Emmerick's  guest,  the  Vicomte  de  Puysange, 
was  in  reality  the  notorious  outlaw,  Perion  de  la  Foret. 
Well,  yonder  the  yet  undetected  impostor  was  talking 
very  earnestly  with  Dame  Melicent :  and  Jurgen  knew  all 
that  was  in  store  for  this  pair  of  lovers. 

Meanwhile,  as  Jurgen  reflected,  the  real  Vicomte  de 
Puysange  was  at  this  moment  lying  in  a  delirium,  yonder 
at  Benoit's :  to-morrow  the  true  Vicomte  would  be  recog 
nized,  and  within  the  year  the  Vicomte  would  have 
married  Felise  de  Soyecourt,  and  later  Jurgen  would  meet 
her,  in  the  orchard ;  and  Jurgen  knew  what  was  to  happen 
then  also. 

And  Messire  de  Montors  was  watching  Dame  Melicent, 
sidewise,  while  he  joked  with  little  Ettarre,  who  was  this 
night  permitted  to  stay  up  later  than  usual,  in  honor  of 
the  masque :  and  Jurgen  knew  that  this  young  bishop  was 
to  become  Pope  of  Rome,  no  less ;  and  that  the  child  he 
joked  with  was  to  become  the  woman  for  possession  of 
whom  Guiron  des  Rocques  and  the  surly-looking  small 
boy  yonder,  Maugis  d'Aigremont,  would  contend  with 
each  other  until  the  country  hereabouts  had  been  dev 
astated,  and  the  castle  wherein  Jurgen  now  was  had 
been  besieged,  and  this  part  of  it  burned.  And  wildly 
droll  and  sad  it  was  to  Jurgen  thus  to  remember  all 
that  was  going  to  happen  to  these  persons,  and  to  all 
the  other  persons  who  were  frolicking  in  the  shadow 
of  their  doom  and  laughing  at  this  trivial  masque. 

For  here — with  so  much  of  ruin  and  failure  impending, 
and  with  sorrow  prepared  so  soon  to  smite  a  many  of 
these  revellers  in  ways  foreknown  to  Jurgen ;  and  with 


50  JURGEN 


death  resistlessly  approaching  so  soon  to  make  an  end 
of  almost  all  this  company  in  some  unlovely  fashion  that 
Jurgen  foreknew  exactly, — here  laughter  seemed  unrea 
sonable  and  ghastly.  Why,  but  Reinault  yonder,  who 
laughed  so  loud,  with  his  cropped  head  flung  back :  would 
Reinault  be  laughing  in  quite  this  manner  if  he  knew  the 
round  strong  throat  he  thus  exposed  was  going  to  be  cut 
like  the  throat  of  a  calf,  while  three  Burgundians  held 
him?  Jurgen  knew  this  thing  was  to  befall  Reinault 
Vinsauf  before  October  was  out.  So  he  looked  at  Rein- 
ault's  throat,  and  shudderingly  drew  in  his  breath  between 
set  teeth. 

"And  he  is  worth  a  score  of  me,  this  boy!"  thought 
Jurgen :  "and  it  is  I  who  am  going  to  live  to  be  an  old 
fellow,  with  my  bit  of  land  in  fee,  years  after  dirt  clogs 
those  bright  generous  eyes,  and  years  after  this  fine  big- 
hearted  boy  is  wasted !  And  I  shall  forget  all  about  him, 
too.  Marion  1'Edol,  that  very  pretty  girl  behind  him,  is 
to  become  a  blotched  and  toothless  haunter  of  alleys,  a 
leering  plucker  at  men's  sleeves!  And  blue-eyed  Colin 
here,  with  his  baby  mouth,  is  to  be  hanged  for  that  matter 
of  coin-clipping — let  me  recall,  now, — yes,  within  six 
years  of  to-night !  Well,  but  in  a  way,  these  people  are 
blessed  in  lacking  foresight.  For  they  laugh,  and  I  can 
not  laugh,  and  to  me  their  laughter  is  more  terrible  than 
weeping.  Yes,  they  may  be  very  wise  in  not  glooming 
over  what  is  inevitable ;  and  certainly  I  cannot  go  so  far 
as  to  say  they  are  wrong :  but  still,  at  the  same  time — ! 
And  assuredly,  living  seems  to  me  in  everything  a  waste 
ful  and  inequitable  process/' 

Thus  Jurgen,  while  the  others  passed  a  very  pleasant 
evening. 


OF  COMPROMISES  ON  A  WEDNESDAY  51 

And  presently,  when  the  masque  was  over,  Dorothy* 
and  Jurgen  went  out  upon  the  terrace,  to  the  east  of 
Bellegarde,  and  so  came  to  an  un forgotten  world  of 
moonlight.  They  sat  upon  a  bench  of  carved  stone  near 
the  balustrade  which  overlooked  the  highway:  and  the 
boy  and  the  girl  gazed  wistfully  beyond  the  highway,  over 
luminous  valleys  and  tree-tops.  Just  so  they  had  sat 
there,  as  Jurgen  perfectly  remembered,  when  Mother 
Sereda  first  used  this  Wednesday. 

"My  Heart's  Desire,"  says  Jurgen,  "I  am  sad  to-night. 
For  I  am  thinking  of  what  life  will  do  to  us,  and  what 
offal  the  years  will  make  of  you  and  me." 

"My  own  sweetheart,"  says  she,  "  and  do  we  not  know 
very  well  what  is  to  happen?"  And  Dorothy  began  to 
talk  of  all  the  splendid  things  that  Jurgen  was  to  do,  and 
of  the  happy  life  which  was  to  be  theirs  together. 

"It  is  horrible,"  he  said:  "for  we  are  more  fine  than 
we  shall  ever  be  hereafter.  We  have  a  splendor  for  which 
the  world  has  no  employment.  It  will  be  wasted.  And 
such  wastage  is  not  fair." 

"But  presently  you  will  be  so  and  so,"  says  she:  and 
fondly  predicts  all  manner  of  noble  exploits  which,  as 
Jurgen  remembered,  had  once  seemed  very  plausible  to 
him  also.  Now  he  had  clearer  knowledge  as  to  the 
capacities  of  the  boy  of  whom  he  had  thought  so  well. 

"No,  Heart's  Desire;  no,  I  shall  be  quite  otherwise." 

" — and  to  think  how  proud  I  shall  be  of  you!  'But 
then  I  always  knew  it',  I  shall  tell  everybody,  very  con 
descendingly — " 

"No,  Heart's  Desire :  for  you  will  not  think  of  me  at 
all." 


52  JURGEN 


"Ah,  sweetheart !  and  can  you  really  believe  that  I  shall 
ever  care  a  snap  of  my  fingers  for  anybody  but  you  ?" 

Then  Jurgen  laughed  a  little;  for  Heitman  Michael 
came  now  across  the  lonely  terrace,  in  search  of  Madame 
Dorothy :  and  Jurgen  foreknew  this  was  the  man  to  whom 
within  two  months  of  this  evening  Dorothy  was  to  give 
her  love  and  all  the  beauty  that  was  hers,  and  with  whom 
she  was  to  share  the  ruinous  years  which  lay  ahead. 

But  the  girl  did  not  know  this,  and  Dorothy  gave  a  little 
shrugging  gesture.  "I  have  promised  to  dance  with  him, 
and  so  I  must  But  the  old  fellow  is  a  great  plague." 

For  Heitman  Michael  was  nearing  thirty,  and  this  to 
Dorothy  and  Jurgen  was  an  age  that  bordered  upon 
senility. 

"Now,  by  heaven,"  said  Jurgen,  "wherever  Heitman 
Michael  does  his  next  dancing  it  will  not  be  hereabouts." 

Jurgen  had  decided  what  he  must  do. 

And  then  Heitman  Michael  saluted  them  civilly.  "But 
I  fear  I  must  rob  you  of  this  fair  lady,  Master  Jurgen,' 
says  he. 

Jurgen  remembered  that  the  man  had  said  precisely 
this  a  score  of  years  ago ;  and  that  Jurgen  had  mumbled 
polite  regrets,  and  had  stood  aside  while  Heitman  Michael 
bore  off  Dorothy  to  dance  with  him.  And  this  dance  had 
been  the  beginning  of  intimacy  between  Heitman  Michael 
and  Dorothy. 

"Heitman,"  says  Jurgen,  "the  bereavement  which  you 
threaten  is  very  happily  spared  me,  since,  as  it  happens, 
the  next  dance  is  to  be  mine." 

"We  can  but  leave  it  to  the  lady,"  says  Heitman 
Michael,  laughing. 

"Not  I,"  says  Jurgen.     "For  I  know  too  well  what 


OF  COMPROMISES  ON  A  WEDNESDAY  S3 


would  come  of  that.     I  intend  to  leave  my  destiny  to  no 
one." 

"Your  conduct,  Master  Jurgen,  is  somewhat  strange," 
observed  Heitman  Michael. 

"Ah,  but  I  will  show  you  a  thing  yet  stranger.  For, 
look  you,  there  seem  to  be  three  of  us  here  on  this  ter 
race.  Yet  I  can  assure  you  there  are  four." 

"Read  me  the  riddle,  my  boy,  and  have  done." 

"The  fourth  of  us,  Heitman,  is  a  goddess  that  wears 
a  speckled  garment  and  has  black  wings.  She  can  boast 
of  no  temples,  and  no  priests  cry  to  her  anywhere,  be 
cause  she  is  the  only  deity  whom  no  prayers  can  move 
or  any  sacrifices  placate.  I  allude,  sir,  to  the  eldest 
daughter  of  Nox  and  Erebus." 

"You  speak  of  death,  I  take  it." 

"Your  apprehension,  Heitman,  is  nimble.  Even  so,  it 
is  not  quick  enough,  I  fear,  to  forerun  the  whims  of  god 
desses.  Indeed,  what  person  could  have  foreseen  that 
this  implacable  lady  would  have  taken  such  a  strong  fancy 
for  your  company." 

"Ah,  my  young  bantam,"  replies  Heitman  Michael,  "it 
is  quite  true  that  she  and  I  are  acquainted.  I  may  even 
boast  of  having  despatched  one  or  two  stout  warriors  to 
serve  her  underground.  Now,  as  I  divine  your  meaning, 
you  plan  that  I  should  decrease  her  obligation  by  sending 
her  a  whippersnapper." 

"My  notion,  Heitman,  is  that  since  this  dark  goddess  is 
about  to  leave  us,  she  should  not,  in  common  gallantry, 
be  permitted  to  go  hence  unaccompanied.  I  propose 
therefore,  that  we  forthwith  decide  who  is  to  be  her 
escort." 

Now  Heitman  Michael  had  drawn  his  sword.     "Yo" 


54  JURGEN 


are  insane.     But  you  extend  an  invitation  which  I  have 
never  yet  refused." 

"Heitman,"  cries  Jurgen,  in  honest  gratitude  and  ad 
miration,  "I  bear  you  no  ill-will.  But  it  is  highly  neces 
sary  you  die  to-night,  in  order  that  my  soul  may  not 
perish  too  many  years  before  my  body." 

With  that  he  too  whipped  out  his  sword. 

So  they  fought.  Now  Jurgen  was  a  very  acceptable 
swordsman,  but  from  the  start  he  found  in  Heitman 
Michael  his  master.  Jurgen  had  never  reckoned  upon 
that,  and  he  considered  it  annoying.  If  Heitman  Michael 
perforated  Jurgen  the  future  would  be  altered,  certainly, 
but  not  quite  as  Jurgen  had  decided  it  ought  to  be  re 
modeled.  So  this  unlooked-for  complication  seemed  pre 
posterous,  and  Jurgen  began  to  be  irritated  by  the  sus 
picion  that  he  was  getting  himself  killed  for  nothing  at 
all. 

Meanwhile  his  unruffled  tall  antagonist  seemed  but  to 
play  with  Jurgen,  so  that  Jurgen  was  steadily  forced  back 
toward  the  balustrade.  And  presently  Jurgen's  sword 
was  twisted  from  his  hand,  and  sent  flashing  over  the 
balustrade,  into  the  public  highway. 

"So  now,  Master  Jurgen,"  says  Heitman  Michael,  "that 
is  the  end  of  your  nonsense.  Why,  no,  there  is  not  any 
occasion  to  posture  like  a  statue.  I  do  not  intend  to  kill 
you.  Why  the  devil's  name,  should  I?  To  do  so  would 
only  get  me  an  ill  name  with  your  parents:  and  besides 
k  is  infinitely  more  pleasant  to  dance  with  this  lady,  just 
as  I  first  intended."  And  he  turned  gaily  toward  Madame 
Dorothy. 

But  Jurgen  found  this  outcome  of  affairs  insufferable. 
This  man  was  stronger  than  he,  this  man  was  of  the  sort 


OF  COMPROMISES  ON  A  WEDNESDAY  55 

that  takes  and  uses  gallantly  all  the  world's  prizes  which 
mere  poets  can  but  respectfully  admire.  All  was  to  do 
again:  Heitman  Michael,  in  his  own  hateful  phrase, 
would  act  just  as  he  had  first  intended,  and  Jurgen  would 
be  brushed  aside  by  the  man's  brute  strength.  This  man 
would  take  away  Dorothy,  and  leave  the  life  of  Jurgen  to 
become  a  business  which  Jurgen  remembered  with  disT 
taste.  It  was  unfair. 

So  Jurgen  snatched  out  his  dagger,  and  drove  it  deep 
into  the  undefended  back  of  Heitman  Michael.  Three 
times  young  Jurgen  stabbed  and  hacked  the  burly  soldier, 
just  underneath  the  left  ribs.  Even  in  his  fury  Jurgen 
remembered  to  strike  on  the  left  side. 

It  was  all  very  quickly  done.  Heitman  Michael's  arms 
jerked  upward,  and  in  the  moonlight  his  fingers  spread 
and  clutched.  He  made  curious  gurgling  noises.  Then 
the  strength  went  from  his  knees,  so  that  he  toppled  back 
ward.  His  head  fell  upon  Jurgen's  shoulder,  resting  there 
for  an  instant  fraternally ;  and  as  Jurgen  shuddered  away 
from  the  abhorred  contact,  the  body  of  Heitman  Michael 
collapsed.  Now  he  lay  staring  upward,  dead  at  the  feet 
of  his  murderer.  He  was  horrible  looking,  but  he  was 
quite  dead. 

"What  will  become  of  you?**  Dorothy  whispered,  after 
a  while,  "Oh,  Jurgen,  it  was  foully  done,  that  which  you 
did  was  infamous !  What  will  become  of  you,  my  dear?' 

"I  will  take  my  doom,"  says  Jurgen,  "and  without 
whimpering,  so  that  I  get  justice.  But  I  shall  certainly 
insist  upon  justice."  Then  Jurgen  raised  his  face  to  the 
bright  heavens.  "The  man  was  stronger  than  I  and 
wanted  what  I  wanted.  So  I  have  compromised  with 
necessity,  in  the  only  way  I  could  make  sure  of  getting 


56  JURGEN 


that  which  was  requisite  to  me.  I  cry  for  justice  to  the 
power  that  gave  him  strength  and  gave  me  weakness,  and 
gave  to  each  of  us  his  desires.  That  which  I  have  done,  I 
have  done.  Now  judge!" 

Then  Jurgen  tugged  and  shoved  the  heavy  body  of 
Heitman  Michael,  until  it  lay  well  out  of  sight,  under 
the  bench  upon  which  Jurgen  and  Dorothy  had  been 
sitting.  "Rest  there,  brave  sir,  until  they  find  you.  Come 
to  me  now,  my  Heart's  Desire.  Good,  that  is  excellent. 
Here  I  sit  with  my  true  love,  upon  the  body  of  my  enemy. 
Justice  is  satisfied,  and  all  is  quite  as  it  should  be.  For 
you  must  understand  that  I  have  fallen  heir  to  a  fine 
steed,  whose  bridle  is  marked  with  a  coronet, — propheti 
cally,  I  take  it, — and  upon  this  steed  you  will  ride  pillion 
with  me  to  Lisuarte.  There  we  will  find  a  priest  to  marry 
us.  We  will  go  together  into  Gatinais.  Meanwhile,  there 
is  a  bit  of  neglected  business  to  be  attended  to."  And 
he  drew  the  girl  close  to  him. 

For  Jurgen  was  afraid  of  nothing  now.  And  Jurgen 
thought : 

"Oh,  that  I  could  detain  the  moment !  that  I  could  make 
some  fitting  verses  to  preserve  this  moment  in  my  own 
memory!  Could  I  but  get  into  words  the  odor  and  the 
thick  softness  of  this  girl's  hair  as  my  hands,  that  are 
a-quiver  in  every  nerve  of  them,  caress  her  hair ;  and  get 
into  enduring  words  the  glitter  and  the  cloudy  shadowings 
of  her  hair  in  this  be-drenching  moonlight !  For  I  shall 
forget  all  this  beauty,  or  at  best  I  shall  remember  this 
moment  very  dimly." 

"You  have  done  very  wrong — "  says  Dorothy. 

Says  Jurgen,  to  himself :  "Already  the  moment  passes, 
this  miserably  happy  moment  wherein  once  more  life 


OF  COMPROMISES  ON  A  WEDNESDAY  57 


shudders  and  stands  heart-stricken  at  the  height  of  bliss ! 
it  passes,  and  I  know  even  as  I  lift  this  girl's  soft  face 
to  mine,  and  mark  what  faith  and  submissiveness  and  ex 
pectancy  is  in  her  face,  that  whatever  the  future  holds 
for  us,  and  whatever  of  happiness  we  two  may  know 
hereafter,  we  shall  find  no  instant  happier  than  this,  which 
passes  from  us  irretrievably  while  I  am  thinking  about 
it,  poor  fool,  in  place  of  rising  to  the  issue." 

" — And  heaven  only  knows  what  will  become  of  you 
Jurgen— " 

Says  Jurgen,  still  to  himself:  "Yes,  something  must 
remain  to  me  of  all  this  rapture,  though  it  be  only  guilt 
and  sorrow:  something  I  mean  to  wrest  from  this  high 
moment  which  was  once  wasted  fruitlessly.  Now  I  am 
wiser:  for  I  know  there  is  not  any  memory  with  less 
satisfaction  in  it  than  the  memory  of  some  temptation  we 
resisted.  So  I  will  not  waste  the  one  real  passion  I  have 
known,  nor  leave  unfed  the  one  desire  which  ever  caused 
me  for  a  heart-beat  to  forget  to  think  about  Jurgen's  wel 
fare.  And  thus,  whatever  happens,  I  shall  not  always 
regret  that  I  did  not  avail  myself  of  this  girl's  love  before 
it  was  taken  from  me." 

So  Jurgen  made  such  advances  as  seemed  good  to  him. 
And  he  noted,  with  amusing  memories  of  how  much 
afraid  he  had  once  been  of  shocking  his  Dorothy's  notions 
of  decorum,  that  she  did  not  repulse  him  very  vigorously. 

"Here,  over  a  dead  body !  Oh,  Jurgen,  this  is  horrible ! 
Now,  Jurgen,  remember  that  somebody  may  come  any 
minute !  And  I  thought  I  could  trust  you !  Ah,  and  is 
this  all  the  respect  you  have  for  me!"  This  much  she 
said  in  duty.  Meanwhile  the  eyes  of  Dorothy  were  di 
lated  and  very  tender. 


58  JURGEN 


"Faith,  I  take  no  chances,  this  second  time.  And  so 
whatever  happens,  I  shall  not  always  regret  that  which  I 
left  undone." 

Now  upon  his  lips  was  laughter,  and  his  arms  were 
about  the  submissive  girl.  And  in  his  heart  was  an  un- 
namable  depression  and  a  loneliness,  because  it  seemed  to 
him  that  this  was  not  the  Dorothy  whom  he  had  seen  in 
the  garden  between  dawn  and  sunrise.  For  in  my  arms 
now  there  is  just  a  very  pretty  girl  who  is  not  over-care 
ful  in  her  dealings  with  young  men,  thought  Jurgen,  as 
their  lips  met.  Well,  all  life  is  a  compromise;  and  a 
pretty  girl  is  something  tangible,  at  any  rate.  So  he 
laughed,  triumphantly,  and  prepared  for  the  sequel. 

But  as  Jurgen  laughed  triumphantly,  with  his  arm  be 
neath  the  head  of  Dorothy,  and  with  the  tender  face  of 
Dorothy  passive  beneath  his  lips,  and  with  unreasonable 
wistfulness  in  his  heart,  the  castle  bell  tolled  midnight. 
What  followed  was  curious:  for  as  Wednesday  passed, 
the  face  of  Dorothy  altered,  her  flesh  roughened  under 
his  touch,  and  her  cheeks  fell  away,  and  fine  lines  came 
about  her  eyes,  and  she  became  the  Countess  Dorothy 
whom  Jurgen  remembered  as  Heitman  Michael's  wife. 
There  was  no  doubt  about  it,  in  that  be-drenching  moon 
light:  and  she  was  leering  at  him,  and  he  was  touching 
her  everywhere,  this  horrible  lascivious  woman,  who  was 
certainly  quite  old  enough  to  know  better  than  to  permit 
such  liberties.  And  her  breath  was  sour  and  nauseous. 
Jurgen  drew  away  from  her,  with  a  shiver  of  loathing, 
and  he  closed  his  eyes,  to  shut  away  that  sensual  face. 

"No,"  he  said ;  "it  would  not  be  fair  to  what  we  owe  tc 
others.  In  fact,  it  would  be  a  very  heinous  sin.  We 
should  weigh  such  considerations  occasionally,  madame." 


OF  COMPROMISES  ON  A  WEDNESDAY  59 


Then  Jurgen  left  his  temptress,  with  simple  dignity. 
"I  go  to  search  for  my  dear  wife,  madame,  in  a  frame  of 
mind  which  I  would  strongly  advise  you  to  adopt  toward 
your  husband." 

And  he  went  straightway  down  the  terraces  of  Belle- 
garde,  and  turned  southward  to  where  his  horse  was 
tethered  upon  Amneran  Heath:  and  Jurgen  was  feeling 
very  virtuous. 


8. 

Old  Toys  and  a  New  Shadow 


JURGEN  had  behaved  with  conspicuous  nobility, 
Jurgen  reflected :  but  he  had  committed  himself.  "I 
go  in  search  of  my  dear  wife,"  he  had  stated,  in  the 
exaltation  of  virtuous  sentiments.  And  now  Jurgen  found 
himself  alone  in  a  world  of  moonlight  just  where  he  had 
last  seen  his  wife. 

"Well,  well,"  he  said,  "now  that  my  Wednesday  is  done 
with,  and  I  am  again  a  reputable  pawnbroker,  let  us 
remember  the  advisability  of  sometimes  doing  the  manly 
thing !  It  was  into  this  cave  that  Lisa  went.  So  into  this 
cave  go  I,  for  the  second  time,  rather  than  home  to  my 
unsympathetic  relatives-in-law.  Or  at  least,  I  think  I  am 
going " 

"Ay,"  said  a  squeaking  voice,  "this  is  the  time.  A  ab 
hur  hus !" 

"High  time!" 

"Oh,  more  than  time!" 

"Look,  the  man  in  the  oak!" 

"Oho,  the  fire-drake!" 

Thus  many  voices  screeched  and  wailed  confusedly. 
But  Jurgen,  staring  about  him,  could  see  nobody :  and  all 
the  tiny  voices  seemed  to  come  from  far  overhead,  where 
nothing  was  visible  save  the  clouds  which  of  a  sudden 
were  gathering;  for  a  wind  was  rising,  and  already  the 

60 


OLD  TOYS  AND  A  NEW  SHADOW       61 


moon  was  overcast.  Now  for  a  while  that  noise  high  in 
the  air  became  like  a  wrangling  of  sparrows,  wherein  no 
words  were  distinguishable. 

Then  said  a  small  shrill  voice  distinctly:  "Note  now. 
sweethearts,  how  high  we  pass  over  the  wind-vexed 
heath,  where  the  gallows'  burden  creaks  and  groans 
swaying  to  and  fro  in  the  night !  Now  the  rain  breaks 
loose  as  a  hawk  from  the  fowler,  and  grave  Queen  Holda 
draws  her  tresses  over  the  moon's  bright  shield.  Now 
the  bed  is  made,  and  the  water  drawn,  and  we  the  bride's 
maids  seek  for  the  lass  who  will  be  bride  to  Sclaug." 

Said  another:  "Oh,  search  for  a  maid  with  golden 
hair,  who  is  perfect,  tender  and  pure,  and  fit  for  a  king 
who  is  old  as  love,  with  no  trace  of  love  in  him.  Even 
nowr  our  grinning  dusty  master  wakes  from  sleep,  and  his 
yellow  fingers  shake  to  think  of  her  flower-soft  lips  who 
comes  to-night  to  his  lank  embrace  and  warms  the  ribs 
that  our  eyes  have  seen.  Who  will  be  bride  to  Sclaug?' 

And  a  third  said:  "The  wedding-gown  we  have 
brought  with  us,  we  that  a-questing  ride :  and  a  maid  will 
go  hence  on  Phorgemon  in  Cleopatra's  shroud.  Hah 
Will  o'the  Wisp  will  marry  the  couple " 

"No,  no !  let  Brachyotus !" 

"No,  be  it  Kitt  with  the  candle-stick!" 

"Eman  hetan,  a  fight,  a  fight!" 

"Oho,  Tom  Tumbler,  'ware  of  Stadlin!" 

"Hast  thou  the  marmaritin,  Tib  ?" 

"A  ab  hur  hus !" 

"Come,  Bembo,  come  away!" 

So  they  all  fell  to  screeching  and  whistling  and  wran 
gling  high  over  Jurgen's  head,  and  Jurgen  was  not  pleased 
with  his  surroundings. 


62  JURGEN 


"For  these  are  the  witches  of  Amneran  about  some 
deviltry  or  another  in  which  I  prefer  to  take  no  part.  I 
now  regret  that  I  flung  away  a  cross  in  this  neighborhood 
so  very  recently,  and  trust  the  action  was  understood.  If 
my  wife  had  not  made  a  point  of  it,  and  had  not  positively 
insisted  upon  it,  I  would  never  have  thought  of  doing 
such  a  thing.  I  intended  no  reflection  upon  anybody. 
Even  so,  I  consider  this  heath  to  be  unwholesome.  And 
upon  the  whole,  I  prefer  to  seek  whatever  I  may  encoun 
ter  in  this  cave." 

So  in  went  Jurgen,  for  the  second  time. 

And  the  tale  tells  that  all  was  dark  there,  and  Jurgen 
could  see  no  one.  But  the  cave  stretched  straight  for 
ward,  and  downward,  and  at  the  far  end  was  a  glow  of 
light.  Jurgen  went  on  and  on,  and  so  came  to  the  place 
where  he  had  found  the  Centaur.  This  part  of  the  cave 
was  now  vacant.  But  behind  where  Nessus  had  lain  in 
wait  for  Jurgen  was  an  opening  in  the  cave's  wall,  ano^ 
through  this  opening  streamed  the  light.  Jurgen  stooped 
and  crawled  through  the  orifice. 

He  stood  erect.  He  caught  his  breath  sharply.  Here 
at  his  feet  was,  of  all  things,  a  tomb  carved  with  the* 
recumbent  effigy  of  a  woman.  Now  this  part  of  the  cave 
was  lighted  by  lamps  upon  tall  iron  stands,  so  that  every 
thing  was  clearly  visible,  even  to  Jurgen,  whose  eyesight 
had  of  late  years  failed  him.  This  was  certainly  a  low' 
flat  tombstone  such  as  Jurgen  had  seen  in  many  churches : 
but  the  tinted  effigy  thereupon  was  curious,  somehow 
Jurgen  looked  more  closely.  He  touched  the  thing. 

Then  he  recoiled,  because  there  is  no  mistaking  the  feel 
of  dead  flesh.  The  effigy  was  not  colored  stone:  it  was 
the  body  of  a  dead  woman.  More  unaccountable  still,  it 


OLD  TOYS  AND  A  NEW  SHADOW       63 


was  the  body  of  Felise  de  Puysange,  whom  Jurgen  had 
loved  very  long  ago  in  Gatinais,  a  great  many  years  be 
fore  he  set  up  in  business  as  a  pawnbroker. 

Very  strange  it  was  to  Jurgen  again  to  see  her  face.  He 
had  often  wondered  what  had  become  of  this  large  brown 
woman ;  had  wondered  if  he  were  really  the  first  man  for 
whom  she  had  put  a  deceit  upon  her  husband;  and  had 
wondered  what  sort  of  person  Madame  Felise  de  Puy 
sange  had  been  in  reality. 

"Two  months  it  was  that  we  played  at  intimacy,  was 
it  not,  Felise?  You  comprehend,  my  dear,  I  really 
remember  very  little  about  you.  But  I  recall  quite  clearly 
the  door  left  just  a- jar,  and  how  as  I  opened  it  gently  I 
would  see  first  of  all  the  lamp  upon  your  dressing- table, 
turned  down  almost  to  extinction,  and  the  glowing  dust 
upon  its  glass  shade.  Is  it  not  strange  that  our  exceeding 
wickedness  should  hare  resulted  in  nothing  save  the 
memory  of  dust  upon  a  lamp  chimney?  Yet  you  were 
very  handsome,  Felise.  I  dare  say  I  would  have  liked 
you  if  I  had  ever  known  you.  But  when  you  told  me  of 
the  child  you  had  lost,  and  showed  me  his  baby  picture, 
I  took  a  dislike  to  you.  It  seemed  to  me  you  were  be 
traying  that  child  by  dealing  over-generously  with  me: 
and  always  between  us  afterward  was  his  little  ghost. 
Yet  I  did  not  at  all  mind  the  deceits  you  put  upon  your 
husband.  It  is  true  I  knew  your  husband  rather  inti 
mately .  Well,  and  they  tell  me  the  good  Vicomte 

was  vastly  pleased  by  the  son  you  bore  him  some  months 
after  you  and  I  had  parted.  So  there  was  no  great  harm 
done,  after  all " 

Then  Jurgen  saw  there  was  another  woman's  body 
lying  like  an  effigy  upon  another  low  flat  tomb,  and  be- 


64  JURGEN 


yond  that  another,  and  then  still  others.  And  Jurgen 
whistled. 

"What,  all  of  them !"  he  said.  "Am  I  to  be  confronted 
with  every  pound  of  tender  flesh  I  have  embraced?  Yes, 
here  is  Graine,  and  Rosamond,  and  Marcoueve,  and 
Elinor.  This  girl,  though,  I  do  not  remember  at  all.  And 
this  one  is,  I  think,  the  little  Jewess  I  purchased  from 
Hassan  Bey  in  Sidon,  but  how  can  one  be  sure?  Still, 
this  is  certainly  Judith,  and  this  is  Myrina.  I  have  half 
a  mind  to  look  again  for  that  mole,  but  I  suppose  it 
would  be  indecorous.  Lord,  how  one's  women  do  add 
up!  There  must  be  several  scores  of  them  in  all.  It  is 
the  sort  of  spectacle  that  turns  a  man  to  serious  thinking. 
Well,  but  it  is  a  great  comfort  to  reflect  that  I  dealt 
fairly  with  every  one  of  them.  Several  of  them  treated 
me  most  unjustly,  too.  But  that  is  past  and  done  with : 
and  I  bear  no  malice  toward  such  fickle  and  short 
sighted  creatures  as  could  not  be  contented  with  one 
lover,  and  he  the  Jurgen  that  was !" 

Thereafter,  Jurgen,  standing  among  his  dead,  spread 
out  his  arms  in  an  embracing  gesture. 

"Hail  to  you,  ladies,  and  farewell !  for  you  and  I  have 
done  with  love.  Well,  love  is  very  pleasant  to  observe 
as  he  advances,  overthrowing  all  ancient  memories  with 
laughter.  And  yet  for  each  gay  lover  who  concedes  the 
lordship  of  love,  and  wears  intrepidly  love's  liveries,  the 
°nd  of  all  is  death.  Love's  sowing  is  more  agreeable  than 
love's  harvest :  or,  let  us  put  it,  he  allures  us  into  byways 
leading  nowhither,  among  blossoms  which  fall  before  the 
first  rough  wind:  so  at  the  last,  with  much  excitement 
and  breath  and  valuable  time  quite  wasted,  we  find  that 
the  end  of  all  is  death.  Then  would  it  have  been  more 


OLD  TOYS  AND  A  NEW  SHADOW       65 


shrewd,  dear  ladies,  to  have  avoided  love?  To  the  con 
trary,  we  were  unspeakably  wise  to  indulge  the  high 
hearted  insanity  that  love  induced;  since  love  alone  can 
lend  young  people  rapture,  however  transiently,  in  a 
world  wherein  the  result  of  every  human  endeavor  is 
transient,  and  the  end  of  all  is  death." 

Then  Jurgen  courteously  bowed  to  his  dead  loves,  and 
left  them,  and  went  forward  as  the  cave  stretched. 

But  now  the  light  was  behind  him,  so  that  Jurgen's 
shadow,  as  he  came  to  a  sharp  turn  in  the  cave,  loomed 
suddenly  upon  the  cave  wall,  confronting  him.  This 
shadow  was  clear-cut  and  unarguable, 

Jurgen  regarded  it  intently.  He  turned  this  way, 
then  the  other;  he  looked  behind  him,  raised  one  hand, 
shook  his  head  tentatively ;  then  he  twisted  his  head  side 
ways  with  his  chin  well  lifted,  and  squinted  so  as  to  get 
a  profile  view  of  this  shadow.  Whatever  Jurgen  did  the 
shadow  repeated,  which  was  natural  enough.  The  odd 
part  was  that  it  in  nothing  resembled  the  shadow  which 
ought  to  attend  any  man,  and  this  was  an  uncomfortable 
discovery  to  make  in  loneliness  deep  under  ground. 

"I  do  not  exactly  like  this,"  said  Jurgen.  "Upon  my 
word,  I  do  not  like  this  at  all.  It  does  not  seem  fair.  It 
is  perfectly  preposterous.  Well" — and  here  he  shrug 
ged, — "well,  and  what  could  anybody  expect  me  to  do 
about  it?  Ah,  what  indeed!  So  I  shall  treat  the  inci 
dent  with  dignified  contempt,  and  continue  my  explora 
tion  of  this  cave." 


9. 

The  Orthodox  Rescue  of  Guenevere 


NOW  the  tale  tells  how  the  cave  narrowed  and 
again  turned  sharply,  so  that  Jurgen  came  as 
through  a  corridor  into  quite  another  sort  of 
underground  chamber.  Yet  this  also  was  a  discomfort- 
able  place. 

Here  suspended  from  the  roof  of  the  vault  was  a 
kettle  of  quivering  red  flames.  These  lighted  a  very  old 
and  villainous  looking  man  in  full  armor,  girded  with  a 
sword,  and  crowned  royally:  he  sat  erect  upon  a  throne, 
motionless,  with  staring  eyes  that  saw  nothing.  Back  of 
him  Jurgen  noted  many  warriors  seated  in  rows,  and  all 
staring  at  Jurgen  with  wide-open  eyes  that  saw  nothing. 
The  red  flaming  of  the  kettle  was  reflected  in  all  these 
eyes,  and  to  observe  this  was  not  pleasant. 

Jurgen  waited  non-committally.  Nothing  happened. 
Then  Jurgen  saw  that  at  this  unengaging  monarch's  feet 
were  three  chests.  The  lids  had  been  ripped  from  two 
of  them,  and  these  were  filled  with  silver  coins.  Upon 
the  middle  chest,  immediately  before  the  king,  sat  a 
woman,  with  her  face  resting  against  the  knees  of  the 
glaring,  withered,  motionless,  old  rascal. 

"And  this  is  a  young  woman.  Obviously!  Observe 
the  glint  of  that  thick  coil  of  hair !  the  rich  curve  of  the 

66 


THE  ORTHODOX  RESCUE  OF  GUENEVERE        67 


neck!  Oh,  clearly,  a  tidbit  fit  to  fight  for,  against  any 
moderate  odds!" 

So  ran  the  thoughts  of  Jurgen.  Bold  as  a  dragon  now, 
he  stepped  forward  and  lifted  the  girl's  head. 

Her  eyes  were  closed.  She  was,  even  so,  the  most 
beautiful  creature  Jurgen  had  ever  imagined. 

"She  does  not  breathe.  And  yet,  unless  memory  fails 
me,  this  is  certainly  a  living  woman  in  my  arms.  Evi 
dently  this  is  a  sleep  induced  by  necromancy.  Well,  it  is 
not  for  nothing  I  have  read  so  many  fairy  tales.  There 
are  orthodoxies  to  be  observed  in  the  awakening  of  every 
enchanted  princess.  And  Lisa,  wherever  she  may  be, 
poor  dear!  is  nowhere  in  this  neighborhood,  because  I 
hear  nobody  talking.  So  I  may  consider  myself  at  liberty 
to  do  the  traditional  thing  by  this  princess.  Indeed,  it  is 
the  only  fair  thing  for  me  to  do,  and  justice  demands  it." 

In  consequence,  Jurgen  kissed  the  girl.  Her  lips 
parted  and  softened,  and  they  assumed  a  not  unpleasant 
sort  of  submissive  ardor.  Her  eyes,  enormous  when 
seen  thus  closely,  had  languorously  opened,  had  viewed 
him  without  wonder,  and  then  the  lids  had  fallen,  about 
half-way,  just  as,  Jurgen  remembered,  the  eyelids  of  a 
woman  ought  to  do  when  she  is  being  kissed  properly. 
She  clung  a  little,  and  now  she  shivered  a  little,  but  not 
with  cold:  Jurgen  perfectly  remembered  that  ecstatic 
shudder  convulsing  a  woman's  body:  everything,  in  fine, 
was  quite  as  it  should  be.  So  Jurgen  put  an  end  to  the 
kiss,  which,  as  you  may  surmise,  was  a  tolerably  lengthy 
affair. 

His  heart  was  pounding  as  though  determined  to  burst 
from  his  body,  and  he  could  feel  the  blood  tingling  at  his 


68  JURGEN 


finger-tips.  He  wondered  what  in  the  world  had  come 
over  him,  who  was  too  old  for  such  emotions. 

Yet,  truly,  this  was  the  loveliest  girl  that  Jurgen  had 
ever  imagined.  Fair  was  she  to  look  on,  with  her  shining 
gray  eyes  and  small  smiling  lips,  a  fairer  person  might 
no  man  boast  of  having  seen.  And  she  regarded  Jurgen 
graciously,  with  her  cheeks  flushed  by  that  red  flickering 
overhead,  and  she  was  very  lovely  to  observe.  She  was 
clothed  in  a  robe  of  flame- colored  silk,  and  about  her 
neck  was  a  collar  of  red  gold.  When  she  spoke  her 
voice  was  music. 

"I  knew  that  you  would  come,"  the  girl  said,  happily. 

"I  am  very  glad  that  I  came,"  observed  Jurgen. 

"But  time  presses." 

'Time  sets  an  admirable  example,  my  dear  Prin 
cess -" 

"Oh,  messire,  but  do  you  not  perceive  that  you  have 
brought  life  into  this  horrible  place !  You  have  given  of 
this  life  to  me,  in  the  most  direct  and  speedy  fashion. 
But  life  is  very  contagious.  Already  it  is  spreading  by 
infection." 

And  Jurgen  regarded  the  old  king,  as  the  girl  indi 
cated.  The  withered  ruffian  stayed  motionless :  but  from 
his  nostrils  came  slow  augmenting  jets  of  vapor,  as 
though  he  were  beginning  to  breathe  in  a  chill  place. 
This  was  odd,  because  the  cave  was  not  cold. 

"And  all  the  others  too  are  snorting  smoke,"  says 
Jurgen.  "Upon  my  word  I  think  this  is  a  delightful 
place  to  be  leaving." 

First,  though,  he  unfastened  the  king's  sword-belt,  and 
girded  himself  therewith,  sword,  dagger  and  all.  "Now 
I  have  arms  befitting  my  fine  shirt,"  says  Jurgen. 


THE  ORTHODOX  RESCUE  OF  GUENEVERE   69 


Then  the  girl  showed  him  a  sort  of  passage  way,  by 
which  they  ascended  forty-nine  steps  roughly  hewn  in 
stone,  and  so  came  to  daylight.  At  the  top  of  the  stair 
way  was  an  iron  trapdoor,  and  this  door  at  the  girl's 
instruction  Jurgen  lowered.  There  was  no  way  of  fas 
tening  the  door  from  without. 

"But  Thragnar  is  not  to  be  stopped  by  bolts  or  pad 
locks,"  the  girl  said.  "Instead,  we  must  straightway 
mark  this  door  with  a  cross,  since  that  is  a  symbol  which 
Thragnar  cannot  pass." 

Jurgen's  hand  had  gone  instinctively  to  his  throat. 
Now  he  shrugged.  "My  dear  young  lady,  I  no  longer 
carry  the  cross.  I  must  fight  Thragnar  with  other 
weapons." 

"Two  sticks  will  serve,  laid  crosswise " 

Jurgen  submitted  that  nothing  would  be  easier  than  to 
lift  the  trapdoor,  and  thus  dislodge  the  sticks.  "They 
will  tumble  apart  without  anyone  having  to  touch  them, 
and  then  what  becomes  of  your  crucifix?" 

"Why,  how  quickly  you  think  of  everything !"  she  said, 
admiringly.  "Here  is  a  strip  from  my  sleeve,  then.  We 
will  tie  the  twigs  together." 

Jurgen  did  this,  and  laid  upon  the  trapdoor  a  recog 
nizable  crucifix.  "Still,  when  anyone  raises  the  trapdoor 
whatever  lies  upon  it  will  fall  off.  Without  disparaging 
the  potency  of  your  charm,  I  cannot  but  observe  that  in 
this  case  it  is  peculiarly  difficult  to  handle.  Magician  or 
no,  I  would  put  heartier  faith  in  a  stout  padlock." 

So  the  girl  tore  another  strip,  from  the  hem  of  her 
gown,  and  then  another  from  her  right  sleeve,  and  with 
these  they  fastened  their  cross  to  the  surface  of  the  trap 
door,  in  such  a  fashion  that  the  twigs  could  not  be  dis- 


70  JURGEN 


lodged  from  beneath.  They  mounted  the  fine  steed  whose 
bridle  was  marked  with  a  coronet,  the  girl  riding  pillion, 
and  they  turned  westward,  since  the  girl  said  this  was 
best. 

For,  as  she  now  told  Jurgen,  she  was  Guenevere,  the 
daughter  of  Gogyrvan,  King  of  Glathion  and  the  Red 
Islands.  So  Jurgen  told  her  he  was  the  Duke  of  Logreus, 
because  he  felt  it  was  not  appropriate  for  a  pawnbroker 
to  be  rescuing  princesses:  and  he  swore,  too,  that  he 
would  restore  her  safely  to  her  father,  whatever  Thrag- 
nar  might  attempt.  And  all  the  story  of  her  nefarious 
capture  and  imprisonment  by  King  Thragnar  did  Dame 
Guenevere  relate  to  Jurgen,  as  they  rode  together  through 
the  pleasant  May  morning. 

She  considered  the  Troll  King  could  not  well  molest 
them.  "For  now  you  have  his  charmed  sword,  Caliburn, 
the  only  weapon  with  which  Thragnar  can  be  slain.  Be 
sides,  the  sign  of  the  cross  he  cannot  pass.  He  beholds 
and  trembles." 

"My  dear  Princess,  he  has  but  to  push  up  the  trapdoor 
from  beneath,  and  the  cross,  being  tied  to  the  trapdoor, 
is  promptly  moved  out  of  his  way.  Failing  this  expe 
dient,  he  can  always  come  out  of  the  cave  by  the  other 
opening,  through  which  I  entered.  If  this  Thragnar  has 
any  intelligence  at  all  and  a  reasonable  amount  of  ten 
acity,  he  will  presently  be  at  hand." 

"Even  so,  he  can  do  no  harm  unless  we  accept  a 
present  from  him.  The  difficulty  is  that  he  will  come  in 
disguise." 

"Why,  then,  we  will  accept  gifts  from  nobody." 

"There  is,  moreover,  a  sign  by  which  you  may  distin 
guish  Thragnar.  For  if  you  deny  what  he  says,  he  will 


THE  ORTHODOX  RESCUE  OF  GUENEVERE        71 


promptly  concede  you  are  in  the  right.  This  was  the 
curse  put  upon  him  by  Miramon  Lluagor,  for  a  detection 
and  a  hindrance." 

"By    that    unhuman    trait,"    says   Jurgen,    "Thragnar 
ought  to  be  very  easy  to  distinguish." 


10. 

Pitiful  Disguises  of  Thragnar 


NEXT,  the  tale  tells  that  as  Jurgen  and  the  Princess 
were  nearing  Gihon,  a  man  came  riding  toward 
them,  full  armed  in  black,  and  having  a  red  ser 
pent  with  an  apple  in  its  mouth  painted  upon  his  shield. 

"Sir  knight/'  says  he,  speaking  hollowly  from  the 
closed  helmet,  "you  must  yield  to  me  that  lady." 

"I  think,"  says  Jurgen,  civilly,  "that  you  are  mistaken." 

So  they  fought,  and  presently,  since  Caliburn  was  a 
resistless  weapon,  and  he  who  wore  the  scabbard  of  Cali 
burn  could  not  be  wounded,  Jurgen  prevailed;  and  gave 
the  strange  knight  so  heavy  a  buffet  that  the  knight  fell 
senseless. 

"Do  you  think,"  says  Jurgen,  about  to  unlace  his  anta 
gonist's  helmet,  "that  this  is  Thragnar?" 

"There  is  no  possible  way  of  telling,"  replied  Dame 
Guenevere :  "if  it  is  the  Troll  King  he  should  have  offered 
you  gifts,  and  when  you  contradicted  him  he  should  have 
admitted  you  were  right.  Instead,  he  proffered  nothing, 
and  to  contradiction  he  answered  nothing,  so  that  proves 
nothing." 

"But  silence  is  a  proverbial  form  of  assent.  At  all 
events,  we  will  have  a  look  at  him." 

"But  that  too  will  prove  nothing,  since  Thragnar  goes 
about  his  mischiefs  so  disguised  by  enchantments  as  in- 

72 


PITIFUL  DISGUISES  OF  THRAGNAR  73 


variably  to  resemble  somebody  else,  and  not  himself  at 
all." 

"Such  dishonest  habits  introduce  an  element  of  uncer 
tainty,  I  grant  you,"  says  Jurgen.  "Still,  one  can  rarely 
err  by  keeping  on  the  safe  side.  This  person  is,  in  any 
event,  a  very  ill-bred  fellow,  with  probably  immoral  inten 
tions.  Yes,  caution  is  the  main  thing,  and  in  justice  to 
ourselves  we  will  keep  on  the  safe  side." 

So  without  unloosing  the  helmet,  he  struck  off  the 
strange  knight's  head,  and  left  him  thus.  The  Princess 
was  now  mounted  on  the  horse  of  their  deceased 
assailant. 

"Assuredly,"  says  Jurgen  then,  "a  magic  sword  is  a 
fine  thing,  and  a  very  necessary  equipment,  too,  for  a 
knight  errant  of  my  age." 

"But  you  talk  as  though  you  were  an  old  man,  Messire 
de  Logreus!" 

"Come  now,"  thinks  Jurgen,  "this  is  a  princess  of  rare 
discrimination.  What,  after  all,  is  forty-and- something 
when  one  is  well-preserved?  This  uncommonly  intel 
ligent  girl  reminds  me  a  little  of  Marcoueve,  whom  I 
loved  in  Artein:  besides,  she  does  not  look  at  me  as 
women  look  at  an  elderly  man.  I  like  this  princess,  in 
fact,  I  adore  this  princess.  I  wonder  now  what  would 
she  say  if  I  told  her  as  much?" 

But  Jurgen  did  not  tempt  chance  that  time,  for  just 
then  they  encountered  a  boy  who  had  frizzed  hair  and 
painted  cheeks.  He  walked  mincingly,  in  a  curious  garb 
of  black  bespangled  with  gold  lozenges,  and  he  carried  a 

gilded  dung  fork. 

*        *        * 

Then  Jurgen  and  the  Princess  came  to  a  black  and 


74  JURGEN 


silver  pavilion  standing  by  the  roadside.  At  the  door  of 
the  pavilion  was  an  apple-tree  in  blossom :  from  a  branch 
of  this  tree  was  suspended  a  black  hunting-horn,  silver- 
mounted.  A  woman  waited  there  alone.  Before  her  was 
a  chess-board,  with  the  ebony  and  silver  pieces  set  ready 
for  a  game,  and  upon  the  table  to  her  left  hand  glittered 
flagons  and  goblets  of  silver.  Eagerly  this  woman  rose 
and  came  toward  the  travellers. 

"Oh,  my  dear  Jurgen/'  says  she,  "but  how  fine  you 
look  in  that  new  shirt  you  are  wearing!  But  there  was 
never  a  man  had  better  taste  in  dress,  as  I  have  always 
said :  and  it  is  long  I  have  waited  for  you  in  this  pavilion, 
which  belongs  to  a  black  gentleman  who  seems  to  be  a 
great  friend  of  yours.  And  he  went  into  Crim  Tartary 
this  morning,  with  some  missionaries,  by  the  worst  piece 
of  luck,  for  I  know  how  sorry  he  will  be  to  miss  you, 
dear.  Now,  but  I  am  forgetting  that  you  must  be  very 
tired  and  thirsty,  my  darling,  after  your  travels.  So  do 
you  and  the  young  lady  have  a  sip  of  this,  and  then  we 
will  be  telling  one  another  of  our  adventures." 

For  this  woman  had  the  appearance  of  Jurgen' s  wife, 
Dame  Lisa,  and  of  none  other. 

Jurgen  regarded  her  with  two  minds.  "You  certainly 
seem  to  be  Lisa.  But  it  is  a  long  while  since  I  saw  Lisa 
in  such  an  amiable  mood." 

"You  must  know,"  says  she,  still  smiling,  "that  I  have 
learned  to  appreciate  you  since  we  were  separated." 

"The  fiend  who  stole  you  from  me  may  possibly  have 
brought  about  that  wonder.  None  the  less,  you  have  met 
me  riding  at  adventure  with  a  young  woman.  And  you 
have  assaulted  neither  of  us,  you  have  not  even  raised 


PITIFUL  DISGUISES  OF  THRAGNAR  75 


your  voice.  No,  quite  decidedly,  here  is  a  miracle  beyond 
the  power  of  any  fiend." 

"Ah,  but  I  have  been  doing  a  great  deal  of  thinking, 
Jurgen  dear,  as  to  our  difficulties  in  the  past.  And  it 
seems  to  me  that  you  were  almost  always  in  the  right." 

Guenevere  nudged  Jurgen.  "Did  you  note  that  ?  This 
is  certainly  Thragnar  in  disguise." 

"I  am  beginning  to  think  that  at  all  events  it  is  not 
Lisa."  Then  Jurgen  magisterially  cleared  his  throat. 
"Lisa,  if  you  indeed  be  Lisa,  you  must  understand  I  am 
through  with  you.  The  plain  truth  is  that  you  tire  me. 
You  talk  and  talk:  no  woman  breathing  equals  you  at 
mere  volume  and  continuity  of  speech:  but  you  say 
nothing  that  I  have  not  heard  seven  hundred  and  eighty 
times  if  not  oftener." 

"You  are  perfectly  right,  my  dear,"  says  Dame  Lisa, 
piteously.  "But  then  I  never  pretended  to  be  as  clever 
as  you," 

"Spare  me  your  beguilements,  if  you  please.  And 
besides,  I  am  in  love  with  this  princess.  Now  spare  me 
your  recriminations,  also,  for  you  have  no  real  right  to 
complain.  If  you  had  stayed  the  person  whom  I  prom 
ised  the  priest  to  love,  I  would  have  continued  to  think 
the  world  of  you.  But  you  did  nothing  of  the  sort.  From 
a  cuddlesome  and  merry  girl,  who  thought  whatever  I 
did  was  done  to  perfection,  you  elected  to  develop  into 
an  uncommonly  plain  and  short-tempered  old  woman." 
And  Jurgen  paused.  "Eh?"  said  he,  "and  did  you  not 
do  this?" 

Dame  Lisa  answered  sadly:  "My  dear,  you  are  per 
fectly  right,  from  your  way  of  thinking.  However,  I 
could  not  very  well  help  getting  older." 


76  JURGEN 


"But,  oh,  dear  me !"  says  Jurgen,  "this  is  astonishingly 
inadequate  impersonation,  as  any  married  man  would  see 
at  once.  Well,  I  made  no  contract  to  love  any  such  plain 
and  short-tempered  person.  I  repudiate  the  claims  of 
any  such  person,  as  manifestly  unfair.  And  I  pledge 
undying  affection  to  this  high  and  noble  Princess  Guene- 
vere,  who  is  the  fairest  lady  that  I  have  ever  seen." 

"You  are  right,"  wailed  Dame  Lisa,  "and  I  was  en 
tirely  to  blame.  It  was  because  I  loved  you,  and  wanted 
you  to  get  on  in  the  world  and  be  a  credit  to  my  father's 
line  of  business,  that  I  nagged  you  so.  But  you  will 
never  understand  the  feelings  of  a  wife,  nor  will  you 
understand  that  even  now  I  desire  your  happiness  above 
all  else.  Here  is  our  wedding-ring,  then,  Jurgen.  I  give 
you  back  your  freedom.  And  I  pray  that  this  princess 
may  make  you  very  happy,  my  dear.  For  surely  you 
deserve  a  princess  if  ever  any  man  did." 

Jurgen  shook  his  head.  "It  is  astounding  that  a  demon 
so  much  talked  about  should  be  so  poor  an  impersonator. 
It  raises  the  staggering  supposition  that  the  majority  of 
married  women  must  go  to  Heaven.  As  for  your  ring,  I 
am  not  accepting  gifts  this  morning,  from  anyone.  But 
you  understand,  I  trust,  that  I  am  hopelessly  enamored 
of  the  Princess  on  account  of  her  beauty." 

"Oh,  and  I  cannot  blame  you,  my  dear.  She  is  the 
loveliest  person  I  have  ever  seen." 

"Hah,  Thragnar!"  says  Jurgen,  "I  have  you  now.  A 
woman  might,  just  possibly,  have  granted  her  own 
homeliness :  but  no  woman  that  ever  breathed  would  have 
conceded  the  Princess  had  a  ray  of  good  looks." 

So  with  Caliburn  he  smote,  and  struck  off  the  head  of 
this  thing  which  foolishly  pretended  to  be  Dame  Lisa. 


PITIFUL  DISGUISES  OF  THRAGNAR  77 


"Well  done!  oh,  bravely  done!"  cried  Guenevere. 
"Now  the  enchantment  is  dissolved,  and  Thragnar  is 
slain  by  my  clever  champion." 

"I  could  wish  there  were  some  surer  sign  of  that," 
said  Jurgen.  "I  would  have  preferred  that  the  pavilion 
and  the  decapitated  Troll  King  had  vanished  with  a  peal 
of  thunder  and  an  earthquake  and  such  other  phenomena 
as  are  customary.  Instead,  nothing  is  changed  except 
that  the  woman  who  was  talking  to  me  a  moment  since 
now  lies  at  my  feet  in  a  very  untidy  condition.  You  con 
ceive,  madame,  I  used  to  tease  her  about  that  twisted 
little-finger,  in  the  days  before  we  began  to  squabble: 
and  it  annoys  me  that  Thragnar  should  not  have  omitted 
even  Lisa's  crooked  little-finger  on  her  left  hand.  Yes, 
such  painstaking  carefulness  worries  me.  For  you  con 
ceive  also,  madame,  it  would  be  more  or  less  awkward  if 
I  had  made  an  error,  and  if  the  appearance  were  in 
reality  what  it  seemed  to  be,  because  I  was  pretty  trying 
sometimes.  At  all  events,  I  have  done  that  which  seemed 
equitable,  and  I  have  found  no  comfort  in  the  doing  of 
it,  and  I  do  not  like  this  place," 


Appearance  of  the  Duke  of  Logreus 


SO  Jurgen  brushed  from  the  table  the  chessmen  that 
were  set  there  in  readiness  for  a  game,  and  he 
emptied  the  silver  flagons  upon  the  ground.  His 
reasons  for  not  meddling  with  the  horn  he  explained  to 
the  Princess :  she  shivered,  and  said  that,  such  being  the 
case,  he  was  certainly  very  sensible.  Then  they  mounted, 
and  departed  from  the  black  and  silver  pavilion.  They 
came  thus  without  further  adventure  to  Gogyrvan  Gawr's 
city  of  Cameliard. 

Now  there  was  shouting  and  the  bells  all  rang  when  the 
people  knew  their  Princess  was  returned  to  them:  the 
houses  were  hung  with  painted  cloths  and  banners,  and 
trumpets  sounded,  as  Guenevere  and  Jurgen  came  to  the 
King  in  his  Hall  of  Judgment  And  this  Gogyrvan,  that 
was  King  of  Glathion  and  Lord  of  Enisgarth  and  Camwy 
and  Sargyll,  came  down  from  his  wide  throne,  and  he 
embraced  first  Guenevere,  then  Jurgen. 

"And  demand  of  me  what  you  will,  Duke  of  Logreus," 
said  Gogyrvan,  when  he  had  heard  the  champion's  name, 
"and  it  is  yours  for  the  asking.  For  you  have  restored 
to  me  the  best  loved  daughter  that  ever  was  the  pride  of 
a  high  king." 

"Sir,"  replied  Jurgen,  reasonably,  "a  service  rendered 
so  gladly  should  be  its  own  reward.  So  I  am  asking  that 

78 


APPEARANCE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  LOGREUS   79 


you  do  in  turn  restore  to  me  the  Princess  Guenevere,  in 
honorable  marriage,  do  you  understand,  because  I  am  a 
poor  lorn  widower,  I  am  tolerably  certain,  but  I  am  quite 
certain  I  love  your  daughter  with  my  whole  heart." 

Thus  Jurgen,  whose  periods  were  confused  by  emotion. 

"I  do  not  see  what  the  condition  of  your  heart  has  to 
do  with  any  such  unreasonable  request.  And  you  have 
no  good  sense  to  be  asking  this  thing  of  me  when  here 
are  the  servants  of  Arthur,  that  is  now  King  of  the 
Britons,  come  to  ask  for  my  daughter  as  his  wife.  That 
you  are  Duke  of  Logreus  you  tell  me,  and  I  concede  a 
duke  is  all  very  well :  but  I  expect  you  in  return  to  con 
cede  a  king  takes  precedence,  with  any  man  whose  daugh 
ter  is  marriageable.  But  to-morrow  or  the  next  day  it 
may  be,  you  and  I  will  talk  over  your  reward  more 
privately.  Meanwhile  it  is  very  queer  and  very  fright 
ened  you  are  looking,  to  be  the  champion  who  conquered 
Thragnar." 

For  Jurgen  was  staring  at  the  great  mirror  behind  the 
King's  throne.  In  this  mirror  Jurgen  saw  the  back  of 
Gogyrvan's  crowned  head,  and  beyond  this,  Jurgen  saw  a 
queer  and  frightened  looking  young  fellow,  with  sleek 
black  hair,  and  an  impudent  nose,  and  wide-open  bright 
brown  eyes  which  were  staring  hard  at  Jurgen:  and  the 
lad's  very  red  and  very  heavy  lips  were  parted,  so  that 
you  saw  what  fine  strong  teeth  he  had:  and  he  wore  a 
glittering  shirt  with  curious  figures  on  it 

"I  was  thinking,"  says  Jurgen,  and  he  saw  the  lad  in 
the  mirror  was  speaking  too,  "I  was  thinking  that  is  a 
remarkable  mirror  you  have  there." 

"It  is  like  any  other  mirror,"  replies  the  King,  "in  that 


80  JURGEN 


it  shows  things  as  they  are.  But  if  you  fancy  it  as  your 
reward,  why,  take  it  and  welcome." 

"And  are  you  still  talking  of  rewards !"  cries  Jurgen. 
"Why,  if  that  mirror  shows  things  as  they  are,  I  have 
come  out  of  my  borrowed  Wednesday  still  twenty-one. 
Oh,  but  it  was  the  clever  fellow  I  was,  to  flatter  Mother 
Sereda  so  cunningly,  and  to  fool  her  into  such  generosity ! 
And  I  wonder  that  you  who  are  only  a  king,  with  bleared 
eyes  under  your  crown,  and  with  a  drooping  belly  under 
all  your  royal  robes,  should  be  talking  of  rewarding  a  fine 
young  fellow  of  twenty-one,  for  there  is  nothing  you 
have  which  I  need  be  wanting  now." 

"Then  you  will  not  be  plaguing  me  any  more  with  your 
nonsense  about  my  daughter :  and  that  is  excellent  news." 

"But  I  have  no  requirement  to  be  asking  your  good 
graces  now,"  said  Jurgen,  "nor  the  good  will  of  any  man 
alive  that  has  a  handsome  daughter  or  a  handsome  wife. 
For  now  I  have  the  aid  of  a  lad  that  was  very  recently 
made  Duke  of  Logreus:  and  with  his  countenance  I  can 
look  out  for  myself,  and  I  can  get  justice  done  me  every 
where,  in  all  the  bedchambers  of  the  world." 

And  Jurgen  snapped  his  fingers,  and  was  about  to  turn 
away  from  the  King.  There  was  much  sunlight  in  the 
hall,  so  that  Jurgen  in  this  half-turn  confronted  his 
shadow  as  it  lay  plain  upon  the  flagstones.  And  Jurgen 
looked  at  it  very  intently. 

"Of  course,"  said  Jurgen  presently,  "I  only  meant  in  a 
manner  of  speaking,  sir :  and  was  paraphrasing  the  splen 
did  if  hackneyed  passage  from  Sornatius,  with  which  you 
are  doubtless  familiar,  in  which  he  goes  on  to  say,  so 
much  more  beautifully  than  I  could  possibly  express 
without  quoting  him  word  for  word,  that  all  this  was 


APPEARANCE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  LOGREUS   81 


spoken  jestingly,  and  without  the  least  intention  of 
offending  anybody,  oh,  anybody  whatever,  I  can  assure 
you,  sir." 

"Very  well,"  said  Gogyrvan  Gawr :  and  he  smiled,  for 
no  reason  that  was  apparent  to  Jurgen,  who  was  still 
watching  his  shadow  sidewise.  "To-morrow,  I  repeat,  I 
must  talk  with  you  more  privately.  To-day  I  am  giving 
a  banquet  such  as  was  never  known  in  these  parts,  be 
cause  my  daughter  is  restored  to  me,  and  because  my 
daughter  is  going  to  be  queen  over  all  the  Britons." 

So  said  Gogyrvan,  that  was  King  of  Glathion  and  Lord 
of  Enisgarth  and  Camwy  and  Sargyll :  and  this  was  done. 
And  everywhere  at  the  banquet  Jurgen  heard  talk  of  this 
King  Arthur  who  was  to  marry  Dame  Guenevere,  and  of 
the  prophecy  which  Merlin  Ambrosius  had  made  as  to  the 
young  monarch.  For  Merlin  had  predicted : 

"He  shall  afford  succor,  and  shall  tread  upon  the  necks 
of  his  enemies :  the  isles  of  the  ocean  shall  be  subdued  by 
him,  and  he  shall  possess  the  forests  of  Gaul :  the  house 
of  Romulus  shall  fear  his  rage,  and  his  acts  shall  be  food 
for  the  narrators." 

"Why,  then,"  says  Jurgen,  to  himself,  "this  monarch 
reminds  me  in  all  things  of  David  of  Israel,  who  was  so 
splendid  and  famous,  and  so  greedy,  in  the  ancient  ages. 
For  to  these  forests  and  islands  and  necks  and  other  pos 
sessions,  this  Arthur  Pendragon  must  be  adding  my  one 
ewe  lamb ;  and  I  lack  a  Nathan  to  convert  him  to  repen 
tance.  Now,  but  this,  to  be  sure,  is  a  very  unfair  thing." 

Then  Jurgen  looked  again  into  a  mirror :  and  presently 
the  eyes  of  the  lad  he  found  therein  began  to  twinkle. 

"Have  at  you,  David !"  said  Jurgen,  valorously ;  "since 
after  all,  I  see  no  reason  to  despair." 


12. 

Excursus  of  Yolande*  s  Undoing 


NOW   Jurgen,    self-appointed   Duke   of   Logreus, 
abode  at  the  court  of  King  Gogyrvan.  The  month 
of  May  passed  quickly  and  pleasantly:  but  the 
monstrous  shadow  which  followed  Jurgen  did  not  pass. 
Still,  no  one  noticed  it:  that  was  the  main  thing.     For 
himself,  he  was  not  afraid  of  shadows,  and  the  queerness 
of  this  one  was  not  enough  to  distract  his  thoughts  from 
Guenevere,  nor  from  his  love-making  with  Guenevere. 

For  these  were  quiet  times  in  Glathion,  now  that  the 
war  with  Rience  of  Northgalis  was  satisfactorily  ended: 
and  love-making  was  now  everywhere  in  vogue.  By  way 
of  diversion,  gentlemen  hunted  and  fished  and  rode 
a-hawking  and  amicably  slashed  and  battered  one  another 
in  tournaments :  but  their  really  serious  pursuit  was  love- 
making,  after  the  manner  of  chivalrous  persons,  who 
knew  that  the  King's  trumpets  would  presently  be  sum 
moning  them  into  less  softly  furnished  fields  of  action, 
from  one  or  another  of  which  they  would  return  feet 
foremost  on  a  bier.  So  Jurgen  sighed  and  warbled  and 
made  eyes  with  many  excellent  fighting-men:  and  the 
Princess  listened  with  many  other  ladies  whose  hearts 
were  not  of  flint.  And  Gogyrvan  meditated. 

Now  it  was  the  kingly  custom  of  Gogyrvan  when  his 
dinner  was  spread  at  noontide,  not  to  go  to  meat  until  all 

82 


EXCURSUS  OF  YOLANDE'S  UNDOING  83 


such  as  demanded  justice  from  him  had  been  furnished 
with  a  champion  to  redress  the  wrong.  One  day  as  the 
gaunt  old  King  sat  thus  in  his  main  hall,  upon  a  seat  of 
green  rushes  covered  with  yellow  satin,  and  with  a 
cushion  of  yellow  satin  under  his  elbow,  and  with  his 
barons  ranged  about  him  according  to  their  degrees,  a 
damsel  came  with  a  very  heart-rending  tale  of  the  oppres 
sion  that  was  on  her. 

Gogyrvan  blinked  at  her,  and  nodded.  "You  are  the 
handsomest  woman  I  have  seen  in  a  long  while/'  says  he, 
irrelevantly.  "You  are  a  woman  I  have  waited  for.  Duke 
Jurgen  of  Logreus  will  undertake  this  adventure." 

There  being  no  help  for  it,  Jurgen  rode  off  with  this 
Dame  Yolande,  not  very  well  pleased:  but  as  they  rode 
he  jested  with  her.  And  so,  with  much  laughter  by  the 
way,  Yolande  conducted  him  to  the  Green  Castle,  of 
which  she  had  been  dispossessed  by  Graemagog,  a  most 
formidable  giant. 

"Now  prepare  to  meet  your  death,  sir  knight!"  cried 
Graemagog,  laughing  horribly,  and  brandishing  his  club ; 
"for  all  knights  who  come  hither  I  have  sworn  to  slay." 

"Well,  if  truth-telling  were  a  sin  you  would  be  a  very 
virtuous  giant,"  says  Jurgen,  and  he  flourished  Thrag- 
nar's  sword,  resistless  Caliburn. 

Then  they  fought,  and  Jurgen  killed  Graemagog.  Thus 
was  the  Green  Castle  restored  to  Dame  Yolande,  and  the 
maidens  who  attended  her  aforetime  were  duly  released 
from  the  cellarage.  They  were  now  maidens  by  courtesy 
only,  but  so  tender  is  the  heart  of  women  that  they  all 
wept  over  Graemagog. 

Yolande  was  very  grateful,  and  proffered  every  manner 
of  reward. 


84  JURGEN 


"But,  no,  I  will  take  none  of  these  fine  jewels,  nor 
money,  nor  lands  either,"  says  Jurgen.  "For  Logreus,  I 
must  tell  you,  is  a  fairly  well-to-do  duchy,  and  the  killing 
of  giants  is  by  way  of  being  my  favorite  pastime.  He  is 
well  paid  that  is  well  satisfied.  Yet  if  you  must  reward 
me  for  such  a  little  service,  do  you  swear  to  do  what  you 
can  to  get  me  the  love  of  my  lady,  and  that  will  suffice." 

Yolande,  without  any  particular  enthusiasm,  consented 
to  attempt  this :  and  indeed  Yolande,  at  Jurgen' s  request, 
made  oath  upon  the  Four  Evangelists  that  she  would  do 
everything  within  her  power  to  aid  him. 

"Very  well,"  said  Jurgen,  "you  have  sworn,  and  it  is 
you  whom  I  love." 

Surprise  now  made  her  lovely.  Yolande  was  frankly 
delighted  at  the  thought  of  marrying  the  young  Duke  of 
Logreus,  and  offered  to  send  for  a  priest  at  once. 

"My  dear,"  says  Jurgen,  "there  is  no  need  to  bother  a 
priest  about  our  private  affairs." 

She  took  his  meaning,  and  sighed.  "Now  I  regret," 
said  she,  "that  I  made  so  solemn  an  oath.  Your  trick 
was  unfair." 

"Oh,  not  at  all,"  said  Jurgen:  "and  presently  you  will 
not  regret  it.  For  indeed  the  game  is  well  worth  the 
candle." 

"How  is  that  shown,  Messire  de  Logreus?" 

"Why,  by  candle-light,"  says  Jurgen, — "naturally." 

"In  that  event,  we  will  talk  no  further  of  it  until  this 
evening." 

So  that  evening  Yolande  sent  for  him.  She  was,  as 
Gogyrvan  had  said,  a  remarkably  handsome  woman,  sleek 
and  sumptuous  and  crowned  with  a  wealth  of  copper- 
colored  hair.  To-night  she  was  at  her  best  in  a  tunic  of 


EXCURSUS  OF  YOLANDE'S  UNDOING      85 


shimmering  blue,  with  a  surcote  of  gold  embroidery,  and 
with  gold  embroidered  pendent  sleeves  that  touched  the 
floor.  Thus  she  was  when  Jurgen  came  to  her. 

"Now,"  says  Yolande,  frowning,  "you  may  as  well 
come  out  straightforwardly  with  what  you  were  hinting 
at  this  morning." 

But  first  Jurgen  looked  about  the  apartment,  and  it  was 
lighted  by  a  tall  gilt  stand  whereon  burned  candles. 

He  counted  these,  and  he  whistled.  "Seven  candles! 
upon  my  word,  sweetheart,  you  do  me  great  honor,  for 
this  is  a  veritable  illumination.  To  think  of  it,  now,  that 
you  should  honor  me,  as  people  do  saints,  with  seven 
candles !  Well,  I  am  only  mortal,  but  none  the  less  I  am 
Jurgen,  and  I  shall  endeavor  to  repay  this  sevenfold 
courtesy  without  discount." 

"Oh,  Messire  de  Logreus,"  cried  Dame  Yolande,  "but 
what  incomprehensible  nonsense  you  talk !  You  misinter 
pret  matters,  for  I  can  assure  you  I  had  nothing  of  that 
sort  in  mind.  Besides,  I  do  not  know  what  you  are 
talking  about." 

"Indeed,  I  must  warn  you  that  my  actions  often  speak 
more  unmistakably  than  my  words.  It  is  what  learned 
persons  term  an  idiosyncrasy." 

" — And  I  certainly  do  not  see  how  any  of  the  saints 
can  be  concerned  in  this.  If  you  had  said  the  Four  Evan 
gelists  now !  For  we  were  talking  of  the  Four 

Evangelists,  you  remember,  this  morning Oh,  but 

how  stupid  it  is  of  you,  Messire  de  Logreus,  to  stand 
there  grinning  and  looking  at  me  in  a  way  that  makes  me 
blush!" 

"Well,  that  is  easily  remedied,"  said  Jurgen,  as  he  blew 
out  the  candles,  "since  women  do  not  blush  in  the  dark." 


JURGEN 


"What  do  you  plan,  Messire  de  Logreus  ?" 

"Ah,  do  not  be  alarmed!"  said  Jurgen.  "I  shall  deal 
fairly  with  you." 

And  in  fact  Yolande  confessed  afterward  that,  con 
sidering  everything,  Messire  de  Logreus  was  very  gen 
erous.  Jurgen  confessed  nothing:  and  as  the  room  was 
profoundly  dark  nobody  else  can  speak  with  authority  as 
to  what  happened  there.  It  suffices  that  the  Duke  of 
Logreus  and  the  Lady  of  the  Green  Castle  parted  later 
on  the  most  friendly  terms. 

"You  have  undone  me,  with  your  games  and  your 
candles  and  your  scrupulous  returning  of  courtesies," 
said  Yolande,  and  yawned,  for  she  was  sleepy ;  "but  I  fear 
that  I  do  not  hate  you  as  much  as  I  ought  to." 

"No  woman  ever  does,"  says  Jurgen,  "at  this  hour." 
He  called  for  breakfast,  then  kissed  Yolande — for  this, 
as  Jurgen  had  said,  was  their  hour  of  parting, — and  he 
rode  away  from  the  Green  Castle  in  high  spirits. 

"Why,  what  a  thing  it  is  again  to  be  a  fine  young  fel 
low!"  said  Jurgen.  "Well,  even  though  her  big  brown 
eyes  protrude  too  much — something  like  a  lobster's — she 
is  a  splendid  woman,  that  Dame  Yolande :  and  it  is  a  com 
fort  to  reflect  I  have  seen  justice  was  done  her." 

Then  he  rode  back  to  Cameliard,  singing  with  delight 
in  the  thought  that  he  was  riding  toward  the  Princess 
Guenevere,  whom  he  loved  with  his  whole  heart. 


13. 

Philosophy  of  Gogyrvan  Gawr 


AT  Cameliard  the  young  Duke  of  Logreus  spent 
most  of  his  time  in  the  company  of  Guenevere, 
whose  father  made  no  objection  overtly.  Gogyr- 
van  had  his  promised  talk  with  Jurgen. 

"I  lament  that  Dame  Yolande  dealt  over- thriftily  with 
you,"  the  King  said,  first  of  all :  "for  I  estimated  you  two 
would  be  as  spark  and  tinder,  kindling  between  you  an 
amorous  conflagration  to  burn  up  all  this  nonsense  about 
my  daughter." 

"Thrift,  sir,"  said  Jurgen,  discreetly,  "is  a  proverbial 
virtue,  and  fires  may  not  consume  true  love." 

"That  is  the  truth,"  Gogyrvan  admitted,  "whoever  says 
it."  And  he  sighed. 

Then  for  a  while  he  sat  in  nodding  meditation.  To 
night  the  old  King  wore  a  disreputably  rusty  gown  of 
black  stuff,  with  fur  about  the  neck  and  sleeves  of  it,  and 
his  scant  white  hair  was  covered  by  a  very  shabby  black 
cap.  So  he  huddled  over  a  small  fire  in  a  large  stone  fire 
place  carved  with  shields ;  beside  him  was  white  wine  and 
red,  which  stayed  untasted  while  Gogyrvan  meditated 
upon  things  that  fretted  him. 

"Now,  then!"  says  Gogyrvan  Gawr:  "this  marriage 
with  the  high  King  of  the  Britons  must  go  forward,  of 
course.  That  was  settled  last  year,  when  Arthur  and  his 

87 


JURGEN 


devil-mongers,  the  Lady  of  the  Lake  and  Merlin  Ambro- 
sius,  were  at  some  pains  to  rescue  me  at  Carohaise.  I 
estimate  that  Arthur's  ambassadors,  probably  the  devil- 
mongers  themselves,  will  come  for  my  daughter  before 
June  is  out.  Meanwhile,  you  two  have  youth  and  love  for 
playthings,  and  it  is  spring." 

"What  is  the  season  of  the  year  to  me,"  groaned  Jurgen, 
"when  I  reflect  that  within  a  week  or  so  the  lady  of  my 
heart  will  be  borne  away  from  me  forever?  How  can  I 
be  happy,  when  all  the  while  I  know  the  long  years  of 
misery  and  vain  regret  are  near  at  hand  ?" 

"You  are  saying  that,"  observed  the  King,  "in  part  be 
cause  you  drank  too  much  last  night,  and  in  part  because 
you  think  it  is  expected  of  you.  For  in  point  of  fact,  you 
are  as  happy  as  anyone  is  permitted  to  be  in  this  world, 
through  the  simple  reason  that  you  are  young.  Misery, 
as  you  employ  the  word,  I  consider  to  be  a  poetical 
trope :  but  I  can  assure  you  that  the  moment  you  are  no 
longer  young  the  years  of  vain  regret  will  begin,  either 
way." 

"That  is  true,"  said  Jurgen,  heartily. 

"How  do  you  know?  Now  then,  put  it  I  were  insane 
enough  to  marry  my  daughter  to  a  mere  duke,  you  would 
grow  damnably  tired  of  her:  I  can  assure  you  of  that 
also,  for  in  disposition  Guenevere  is  her  sainted  mother 
all  over  again.  She  is  nice  looking,  of  course,  because  in 
that  she  takes  after  my  side  of  the  family:  but,  between 
ourselves,  she  is  not  particularly  intelligent,  and  she  will 
always  be  making  eyes  at  some  man  or  another.  To-day 
it  appears  to  be  your  turn  to  serve  as  her  target,  in  a  fine 
glittering  shirt  of  which  the  like  was  never  seen  in 
Glathion.  I  deplore,  but  even  so  I  cannot  deny,  your 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  GOGYRVAN  GAWR  89 

rights  as  the  champion  who  rescued  her:  and  I  must  bid 
you  make  the  most  of  that  turn." 

"Meanwhile,  it  occurs  to  me,  sir,  that  it  is  unusual  to 
betroth  your  daughter  to  one  man,  and  permit  her  to  go 
freely  with  another." 

"If  you  insist  upon  it,"  said  Gogyrvan  Gawr,  "I  can  of 
course  lock  up  the  pair  of  you,  in  separate  dungeons,  until 
the  wedding  day.  Meanwhile,  it  occurs  to  me  you  should 
be  the  last  commentator  to  grumble." 

"Why,  I  tell  you  plainly,  sir,  that  critical  persons  would 
say  you  are  taking  very  small  care  of  your  daughter's 
honor." 

"To  that  there  are  several  answers,"  replied  the  King. 
"One  is  that  I  remember  my  late  wife  as  tenderly  as 
possible,  and  I  reflect  I  have  only  her  word  for  it  as  to 
Guenevere's  being  my  daughter.  Another  is  that, 
though  my  daughter  is  a  quiet  and  well-conducted  young 
woman,  I  never  heard  King  Thragnar  was  anything  of 
this  sort." 

"Oh,  sir,"  said  Jurgen,  horrified,  "whatever  are  you 
hinting!" 

"All  sorts  of  things,  however,  happen  in  caves,  things 
which  it  is  wiser  to  ignore  in  sunlight.  So  I  ignore:  I 
ask  no  questions:  my  business  is  to  marry  my  daughter 
acceptably,  and  that  only.  Such  discoveries  as  may  be 
made  by  her  husband  afterward  are  his  affair,  not  mine. 
This  much  I  might  tell  you,  Messire  de  Logreus,  by  way 
of  answer.  But  the  real  answer  is  to  bid  you  consider 
this:  that  a  woman's  honor  is  concerned  with  one  thing 
only,  and  it  is  a  thing  with  which  the  honor  of  a  man  is 
not  concerned  at  all." 


90  JURGEN 


"But  now  you  talk  in  riddles,  King,  and  I  wonder  what 
it  is  you  would  have  me  do." 

Gogyrvan  grinned.  "Obviously,  I  advise  you  to  give 
thanks  you  were  born  a  man,  because  that  sturdier  sex 
has  so  much  less  need  to  bother  over  breakage." 

"What  sort  of  breakage,  sir?"  says  Jurgen. 

Gogyrvan  told  him. 

Duke  Jurgen  for  the  second  time  looked  properly  horri 
fied.  "Your  aphorisms,  King,  are  abominable,  and  of  a 
sort  unlikely  to  quiet  my  misery.  However,  we  were 
speaking  of  your  daughter,  and  it  is  she  who  must  be 
considered  rather  than  I." 

"Now  I  perceive  that  you  take  my  meaning  perfectly. 
Yes,  in  all  matters  which  concern  my  daughter  I  would 
have  you  lie  like  a  gentleman." 

"Well,  I  am  afraid,  sir,"  said  Jurgen,  after  a  pause, 
"that  you  are  a  person  of  somewhat  degraded  ideals." 

"Ah,  but  you  are  young.  Youth  can  afford  ideals,  being 
vigorous  enough  to  stand  the  hard  knocks  they  earn  their 
possessor.  But  I  am  an  old  fellow  cursed  with  a  tender 
heart  and  tolerably  keen  eyes.  That  combination,  Messire 
de  Logreus,  is  one  which  very  often  forces  me  to  jeer  out 
of  season,  simply  because  I  know  myself  to  be  upon  the 
verge  of  far  more  untimely  tears." 

Thus  Gogyrvan  replied.  He  was  silent  for  a  while, 
and  he  contemplated  the  fire.  Then  he  waved  a  shriveled 
hand  toward  the  window,  and  Gogyrvan  began  to  speak, 
meditatively : 

"Messire  de  Logreus,  it  is  night  in  my  city  of  Cameli- 
ard.  And  somewhere  one  of  those  roofs  harbors  a  girl 
whom  we  will  call  Lynette.  She  has  a  lover — we  will  say 
he  ,is  called  Sagramor.  The  names  do  not  matter.  To- 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  GOGYRVAN  GAWR  91 

night,  as  I  speak  with  you,  Lynette  lies  motionless  in  the 
carved  wide  bed  that  formerly  was  her  mother's.  She  is 
thinking  of  Sagramor.  The  room  is  dark  save  where 
moonlight  silvers  the  diamond-shaped  panes  of  ancient 
windows.  In  every  corner  of  the  room  mysterious  quiv 
ering  suggestions  lurk." 

"Ah,  sire,"  says  Jurgen,  "you  also  are  a  poet !" 

"Do  not  interrupt  me,  then!  Lynette,  I  repeat,  is 
thinking  of  Sagramor.  Again  they  sit  near  the  lake, 
under  an  apple-tree  older  than  Rome.  The  knotted 
branches  of  the  tree  are  upraised  as  in  benediction:  and 
petals — petals,  fluttering,  drifting,  turning, —  interminable 
white  petals  fall  silently  in  the  stillness.  Neither  speaks : 
for  there  is  no  need.  Silently  he  brushes  a  petal  from  the 
blackness  of  her  hair,  and  silently  he  kisses  her.  The 
lake  is  dusky  and  hard-seeming  as  jade.  Two  lonely  stars 
hang  low  in  the  green  sky.  It  is  droll  that  the  chest  of 
a  man  is  hairy,  oh,  very  droll!  And  a  bird  is  singing, 
a  silvery  needle  of  sound  moves  fitfully  in  the  stillness. 
Surely  high  Heaven  is  thus  quietly  colored  and  thus 
strangely  lovely.  So  at  least  thinks  little  Lynette,  lying 
motionless  like  a  little  mouse,  in  the  carved  wide  bed 
wherein  Lynette  was  born." 

"A  very  moving  touch,  that,"  Jurgen  interpolated. 

"Now,  there  is  another  sort  of  singing:  for  now  the 
pot-house  closes,  big  shutters  bang,  feet  shuffle,  a  drunken 
man  hiccoughs  in  his  singing.  It  is  a  love-song  he  is 
murdering.  He  sheds  inexplicable  tears  as  he  lurches 
nearer  and  nearer  to  Lynette's  window,  and  his  heart 
is  all  magnanimity,  for  Sagramor  is  celebrating  his  latest 
conquest.  Do  you  not  think  that  this  or  something  very 


92  JURGEN 


like  this  is  happening  to-night  in  my  city  of  Cameliard, 
Messire  de  Logreus?". 

"It  happens  momently,"  said  Jurgen,  "everywhere.  For 
thus  is  every  woman  for  a  little  while,  and  thus  is  every 
man  for  all  time." 

"That  being  a  dreadful  truth/'  continued  Gogyrvan, 
"you  may  take  it  as  one  of  the  many  reasons  why  I 
jeer  out  of  season  in  order  to  stave  off  far  more  un 
timely  tears.  For  this  thing  happens :  in  my  city  it  hap 
pens,  and  in  my  castle  it  happens.  King  or  no,  I  am 
powerless  to  prevent  its  happening.  So  I  can  but  shrug 
and  hearten  my  old  blood  with  a  fresh  bottle.  No  less, 
I  regard  the  young  woman,  who  is  quite  possibly  my 
daughter,  with  considerable  affection:  and  it  would  be 
salutary  for  you  to  remember  that  circumstance,  Mes 
sire  de  Logreus,  if  ever  you  are  tempted  to  be  candid." 

Jurgen  was  horrified.  "But  with  the  Princess,  sir,  it  is 
unthinkable  that  I  should  not  deal  fairly." 

King  Gogyrvan  continued  to  look  at  Jurgen.  Gogyrvan 
Gawr  said  nothing,  and  not  a  muscle  of  him  moved. 

"Although  of  course,"  said  Jurgen,  "  I  would,  in  simple 
justice  to  her,  not  ever  consider  volunteering  any  in 
formation  likely  to  cause  pain." 

"Again  I  perceive,"  said  Gogyrvan,  "that  you  under 
stand  me.  Yet  I  did  not  speak  of  my  daughter  only,  but 
of  everybody." 

"How  then,  sir,  would  you  have  me  deal  with  every 
body?" 

"Why,  I  can  but  repeat  my  words,"  says  Gogyrvan, 
very  patiently :  "I  would  have  you  lie  like  a  gentleman. 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  GOGYRVAN  GAWR  93 


And  now  be  off  with  you,  for  I  am  going  to  sleep.     I 
shall  not  be  wide  awake  again  until  my  daughter  is  safely 
married.    And  that  is  absolutely  all  I  can  do  for  you." 
"Do  you  think  this  is  reputable  conduct,  King?" 
"Oh,  no!"  says  Gogyrvan,  surprised.     "It  is  what  we 
call  philanthropy." 


14. 

Preliminary  Tactics  of  Duke  Jurgen 


SO  Jurgen  abode  at  court,  and  was  tolerably  content 
for  a  little  while.    He  loved  a  princess,  the  fairest 
and  most  perfect  of  mortal  women ;  and  loved  her 
(a   circumstance   to   which  he   frequently  recurred)    as 
never  any  other  man  had  loved  in  the  world's  history: 
and  very  shortly  he  was  to  stand  by  and  see  her  married 
to  another.    Here  was  a  situation  to  delight  the  chivalrous 
court  of  Glathion,  for  every  requirement  of  romance  was 
exactly  fulfilled. 

Now  the  appearance  of  Guenevere,  whom  Jurgen  loved 
with  an  entire  heart,  was  this: — She  was  of  middling 
height,  with  a  figure  not  yet  wholly  the  figure  of  a  woman. 
She  had  fine  and  very  thick  hair,  and  the  color  of  it  was 
the  yellow  of  corn  floss.  When  Guenevere  undid  her  hair 
it  was  a  marvel  to  Jurgen  to  note  how  snugly  this  hair 
descended  about  the  small  head  and  slender  throat,  and 
then  broadened  boldly  and  clothed  her  with  a  loose  soft 
foam  of  pallid  gold.  For  Jurgen  delighted  in  her  hair; 
and  with  increasing  intimacy,  loved  to  draw  great  strands 
of  it  back  of  his  head,  crossing  them  there,  and  pressing 
soft  handfuls  of  her  perfumed  hair  against  his  cheeks  as 
he  kissed  the  Princess. 

The  head  of  Guenevere,  be  it  repeated,  was  small :  you 
wondered  at  the  proud  free  tossing  movements  of  that 

94 


PRELIMINARY  TACTICS  OF  DUKE  JURGEN        95 

little  head  which  had  to  sustain  the  weight  of  so  much 
hair.  The  face  of  Guenevere  was  colored  tenderly  and 
softly :  it  made  the  faces  of  other  women  seem  the  work 
of  a  sign-painter,  just  splotched  in  anyhow.  Gray  eyes 
had  Guenevere,  veiled  by  incredibly  long  black  lashes  that 
curved  incredibly.  Her  brows  arched  rather  high  above 
her  eyes :  that  was  almost  a  fault.  Her  nose  was  delicate 
and  saucy :  her  chin  was  impudence  made  flesh :  and  her 
mouth  was  a  tiny  and  irresistible  temptation. 

"And  so  on,  and  so  on !  But  indeed  there  is  no  sense 
at  all  in  describing  this  lovely  girl  as  though  I  were  taking 
an  inventory  of  my  shop  window,"  said  Jurgen.  "Ana 
logues  are  all  very  well,  and  they  have  the  unanswerable 
sanction  of  custom:  none  the  less,  when  I  proclaim  that 
my  adored  mistress's  hair  reminds  me  of  gold  I  am  quite 
consciously  lying.  It  looks  like  yellow  hair,  and  nothing 
else :  nor  would  I  willingly  venture  within  ten  feet  of  any 
woman  whose  head  sprouted  with  wires,  of  whatever 
metal.  And  to  protest  that  her  eyes  are  as  gray  and 
fathomless  as  the  sea  is  very  well  also,  and  the  sort  of 
thing  which  seems  expected  of  me :  but  imagine  how  hor 
rific  would  be  puddles  of  water  slopping  about  in  a  lady's 
eye-sockets !  If  we  poets  could  actually  behold  the  mon 
sters  we  rhyme  of,  we  would  scream  and  run.  Still,  I 
rather  like  this  sirvente." 

For  he  was  making  a  sirvente  in  praise  of  Guenevere. 
It  was  the  pleasant  custom  of  Gogyrvan's  court  that 
every  gentleman  must  compose  verses  in  honor  of  the 
lady  of  whom  he  was  hopelessly  enamored ;  as  well  as  that 
in  these  verses  he  should  address  the  lady  (as  one  whose 
name  was  too  sacred  to  mention)  otherwise  than  did  her 


96  JURGEN 


sponsors.  So  Duke  Jurgen  of  Logreus  duly  rhapsodized 
of  his  Phyllida. 

"I  borrow  for  my  dear  love  the  appellation  of  that 
noted  but  by  much  inferior  lady  who  was  beloved  by 
Ariphus  of  Belsize,"  he  explained.  "You  will  remember 
Poliger  suspects  she  was  a  princess  of  the  house  of 
Scleroveus :  and  you  of  course  recall  Pisander's  masterly 
summing-up  of  the  probabilities,  in  his  Heraclea." 

"Oh,  yes,"  they  said.  And  the  courtiers  of  Gogyrvan 
Gawr,  like  Mother  Sereda,  were  greatly  impressed  by 
young  Duke  Jurgen's  erudition. 

For  Jurgen  was  Duke  of  Logreus  nowadays,  with  his 
glittering  shirt  and  the  coronet  upon  his  bridle  to  show 
for  it.  Awkwardly  this  proved  to  be  an  earl's  coronet, 
but  incongruities  are  not  always  inexplicable. 

"It  was  Earl  Giarmuid's  horse.  You  have  doubtless 
heard  of  Giarmuid :  but  to  ask  that  is  insulting." 

"Oh,  not  at  all.  It  is  humor.  We  perfectly  under 
stand  your  humor,  Duke  Jurgen." 

"And  a  very  pretty  fighter  I  found  this  famous  Giar 
muid  as  I  traveled  westward.  And  since  he  killed  my 
steed  in  the  heat  of  our  conversation,  I  was  compelled  to 
take  over  his  horse,  after  I  had  given  this  poor  Giar 
muid  proper  interment.  Oh,  yes,  a  very  pretty  fighter, 
and  I  had  heard  much  talk  of  him  in  Logreus.  He  was 
Lord  of  Ore  and  Persaunt,  you  remember,  though  of 
course  the  estate  came  by  his  mother's  side." 

"Oh,  yes,"  they  said.  "You  must  not  think  that  we 
of  Glathion  are  quite  shut  out  from  the  great  world.  We 
have  heard  of  all  these  affairs.  And  we  have  also  heard 
fine  things  of  your  duchy  of  Logreus,  messire." 


PRELIMINARY  TACTICS  OF  DUKE  JURGEN        97 


"Doubtless,"  said  Jurgen;  and  turned  again  to  his 
singing. 

"Lo,  for  I  pray  to  thee,  resistless  Love,"  he  descanted, 
"that  thou  to-day  make  cry  unto  my  love,  to  Phyllida 
whom  I,  poor  Logreus,  love  so  tenderly,  not  to  deny  me 
love !  Asked  why,  say  thou  my  drink  and  food  is  love, 
in  days  wherein  I  think  and  brood  on  love,  and  truly  find 
naught  good  in  aught  save  love,  since  Phyllida  hath  taught 
me  how  to  love." 

Here  Jurgen  groaned  with  nicely  modulated  ardor ;  and 
he  continued :  "If  she  avow  such  constant  hate  of  love  as 
would  ignore  my  great  and  constant  love,  plead  thou  no 
more!  With  listless  lore  of  love  woo  Death  resistlessly, 
resistless  Love,  in  place  of  her  that  saith  such  scorn  of 
love  as  lends  to  Death  the  lure  and  grace  I  love." 

Thus  Jurgen  sang  melodiously  of  his  Phyllida,  and 
meant  thereby  (as  everybody  knew)  the  Princess  Guene- 
vere.  Since  custom  compelled  him  to  deal  in  analogues, 
he  dealt  wholesale.  Gems  and  metals,  the  blossoms  of 
the  field  and  garden,  fires  and  wounds  and  sunrises  and 
perfumes,  an  armory  of  lethal  weapons,  ice  and  a  con 
course  of  mythological  deities  were  his  starting-point. 
Then  the  seas  and  heavens  were  dredged  of  phenomena 
to  be  mentioned  with  disparagement,  in  comparison  with 
one  or  another  feature  of  Duke  Jurgen's  Phyllida. 
Zoology  and  history,  and  generally  the  remembered  con 
tents  of  his  pawnshop,  were  overhauled  and  made  to 
furnish  targets  for  depreciation :  whereas  in  dealing  with 
the  famous  ladies  loved  by  earlier  poets,  Duke  Jurgen 
was  positively  insulting,  allowing  hardly  a  rag  of  merit. 
Still,  he  was  careful  to  be  just :  and  he  allowed  that  these 
poor  creatures  might  figure  advantageously  enough  in 


98  TURGEN 


eyes  which  had  never  beheld  his  Phyllida.  And  to  all  this 
information  the  lady  whom  he  hymned  attended  willingly. 

"She  is  a  princess,"  reflected  Jurgen.  "She  is  quite 
beautiful.  She  is  young,  and  whatever  her  father's 
opinion,  she  is  reasonably  intelligent,  as  women  go.  No 
body  could  ask  more.  Why,  then,  am  I  not  out  of  my 
head  about  her  ?  Already  she  permits  a  kiss  or  two  when 
nobody  is  around,  and  presently  she  will  permit  more. 
And  she  thinks  I  am  quite  the  cleverest  person  living. 
Come,  Jurgen,  man!  is  there  no  heart  in  this  spry  young 
body  you  have  regained  ?  Come,  let  us  have  a  little  honest 
rapture  and  excitement  over  this  promising  situation !" 

But  somehow  Jurgen  could  not  manage  it.  He  was 
interested  in  what,  he  knew,  was  going  to  happen.  Yes, 
undoubtedly  he  looked  forward  to  more  intimate  converse 
with  this  beautiful  youn^*  princess,  but  it  was  rather  as 
one  anticipates  partaking  of  a  favorite  dessert.  Jurgen 
felt  that  a  liaison  arranged  for  in  this  spirit  was  neither 
one  thing  or  the  other. 

"If  only  I  could  feel  like  a  cold-blooded  villain,  now, 
I  would  at  worst  be  classifiable.  But  I  intend  the  girl 
no  harm,  I  am  honestly  fond  of  her.  I  shall  talk  my 
best,  broaden  her  ideas,  and  give  her,  I  flatter  myself, 
considerable  pleasure:  vulgar  prejudices  apart,  I  shall 
leave  her  no  whit  the  worse.  Why,  the  dear  little  thing, 
not  for  the  ransom  of  seven  emperors  would  I  do  her 
any  hurt !  And  in  these  matters  discretion  is  everything, 
simply  everything.  No,  quite  decidedly,  I  am  not  a  cold 
blooded  villain ;  and  I  shall  deal  fairly  with  the  Princess." 

Thus  Jurgen  was  disappointed  by  his  own  emotions,  as 
he  turned  them  from  side  to  side,  and  prodded  them, 
and  shifted  to  a  fresh  viewpoint,  only  to  find  it  no  more 


PRELIMINARY  TACTICS  OF  DUKE  JURGEN        99 


favorable  than  the  one  relinquished:  but  he  veiled  the 
inadequacy  of  his  emotions  with  very  moving  fervors. 
The  tale  does  not  record  his  conversations  with  Guene- 
vere:  for  Jurgen  now  discoursed  plain  idiocy,  as  one 
purveys  sweetmeats  to  a  child  in  fond  astonishment  at 
the  pet's  appetite.  And  leisurely  Jurgen  advanced :  there 
was  no  hurry,  with  weeks  wherein  to  accomplish  every 
thing:  meanwhile  this  routine  work  had  a  familiar 
pleasantness. 

For  the  amateur  co-ordinates  matters,  knowing  that 
one  thing  axiomatically  leads  to  another.  There  is  no 
harm  at  all  in  respectful  allusions  to  a  love  that  compre 
hends  its  hopelessness :  it  was  merely  a  fact  which  Jurgen 
mentioned,  and  was  about  to  pass  on;  only  Guenevere, 
in  modesty,  was  forced  to  disparage  her  own  attractions, 
as  an  inadequate  cause  for  so  much  misery.  Common 
courtesy  demanded  that  Jurgen  enter  upon  a  rebuttal.  To 
emphasize  one  point  in  this,  the  orator  was  forced  to 
take  the  hand  of  his  audience :  but  strangers  did  that  every 
day,  with  nobody  objecting;  moreover,  the  hand  was 
here,  not  so  much  seized  as  displayed  by  its  detainer, 
as  evidence  of  what  he  contended.  How  else  was  he  to 
prove  the  Princess  of  Glathion  had  the  loveliest  hand  in 
the  world  ?  It  was  not  a  matter  he  could  request  Guene 
vere  to  accept  on  hearsay:  and  Jurgen  wanted  to  deal 
fairly  with  her. 

Well,  but  before  relinquishing  the  loveliest  hand  in 
the  world  a  connoisseur  will  naturally  kiss  each  finger 
tip:  this  is  merely  a  tribute  to  perfection,  and  has  no 
personal  application.  Besides,  a  kiss,  wherever  deposited, 
as  Jurgen  pointed  out,  is,  when  you  think  of  it,  but  a 
ceremonial,  of  no  intrinsic  wrongfulness.  The  girl  de- 


100  JURGEN 


murring  against  this  apothegm — as  custom  again  exacted, 
— was,  still  in  common  fairness,  convinced  of  her  error. 
So  now,  says  Jurgen  presently,  you  see  for  yourself.  Is 
anything  changed  between  us?  Do  we  not  sit  here,  just 
as  we  were  before?  Why,  to  be  sure!  a  kiss  is  now 
attestedly  a  quite  innocuous  performance,  with  nothing 
very  fearful  about  it  one  way  or  the  other.  It  even  has 
its  pleasant  side.  Thus  there  is  no  need  to  make  a 
pother  over  kisses  or  over  an  arm  about  you,  when  it 
is  more  comfortable  sitting  so:  how  can  one  reasonably 
deny  to  a  sincere  friend  what  is  accorded  to  a  cousin  or 
an  old  cloak?  It  would  be  nonsense,  as  Jurgen  demon 
strated  with  a  very  apt  citation  from  Napsacus. 

Then,  sitting  so,  in  the  heat  of  conversation  a  speaker 
naturally  gesticulates :  and  a  deal  of  his  eloquence  is  de 
pendent  upon  his  hands.  When  anyone  is  talking  it  is 
discourteous  to  interrupt,  whereas  to  lay  hold  of  a  gentle 
man's  hand  outright,  as  Jurgen  parenthesized,  is  a  little 
forward.  No,  he  really  did  not  think  it  would  be  quite 
proper  for  Guenevere  to  hold  his  hand.  Let  us  preserve 
decorum,  even  in  trifles. 

"Ah,  but  you  know  that  you  are  doing  wrong !" 
"I  doing  wrong!  I,  who  am  simply  sitting  here  and 
talking  my  poor  best  in  an  effort  to  entertain  you !    Come 
now,  Princess,  but  tell  me  what  you  mean !" 
"You  should  know  very  well  what  I  mean." 
"But  I  protest  to  you  I  have  not  the  least  notion.    How 
can  I  possibly  know  what  you  mean  when  you  refuse  to 
tell  me  what  you  mean?" 

And  since  the  Princess  declined  to  put  into  words  just 
what  she  meant,  things  stayed  as  they  were,  for  the 
while. 


PRELIMINARY  TACTICS  OF  DUKE  JURGEN      101 


Thus  did  Jurgen  co-ordinate  matters,  knowing  that  one 
thing  axiomatically  leads  to  another.  And  in  short, 
affairs  sped  very  much  as  Jurgen  had  anticipated. 

Now,  by  ordinary,  Jurgen  talked  with  Guenevere  in 
dimly  lighted  places.  He  preferred  this,  because  then 
he  was  not  bothered  by  that  unaccountable  shadow  whose 
presence  in  sunlight  put  him  out.  Nobody  ever  seemed 
to  notice  this  preposterous  shadow ;  it  was  patent,  indeed, 
that  nobody  could  see  it  save  Jurgen:  none  the  less,  the 
thing  worried  him.  So  even  from  the  first  he  remem 
bered  Guenevere  as  a  soft  voice  and  a  delectable  perfume 
in  twilight,  as  a  beauty  not  clearly  visioned. 

And  Gogyrvan's  people  worried  him.  The  hook-nosed 
tall  old  King  had  been  by  Jurgen  dismissed  from  thought, 
as  an  enigma  not  important  enough  to  be  worth  the 
trouble  of  solving.  Gogyrvan  at  once  seemed  to  be 
schooling  himself  to  patience  under  some  private  annoy 
ance  and  to  be  revolving  in  his  mind  some  private  jest; 
he  was  queer,  and  probably  abominable :  but  to  grant  the 
old  rascal  his  due,  he  was  not  meddlesome. 

The  people  about  Gogyrvan,  though,  were  perplexing. 
These  men  who  considered  that  all  you  possessed  was 
loaned  you  to  devote  to  the  service  of  your  God,  your 
King  and  every  woman  who  crossed  your  path,  could 
hardly  be  behaving  rationally.  To  talk  of  serving  God 
sounded  as  sonorously  and  as  inspiritingly  as  a  drum: 
yes,  and  a  drum  had  nothing  but  air  in  it.  The  priests 
said  so-and-so:  but  did  anybody  believe  the  gallant 
Bishop  of  Merion,  for  example,  was  always  to  be  de 
pended  upon  ? 

"I  would  like  the  opinion  of  Prince  Evrawc's  wife  as 
to  that,"  said  Jurgen,  with  a  grin.  For  it  was  well-known 


102  JURGEN 


that  all  affairs  between  this  Dame  Alundyne  and  the 
Bishop  were  so  discreetly  managed  as  to  afford  no  reason 
for  any  scandal  whatever. 

As  for  serving  the  King,  there  in  plain  view  was 
Gogyrvan  Gawr,  for  anyone  who  so  elected,  to  regard  and 
grow  enthusiastic  over:  Gogyrvan  might  be  shrewd 
enough,  but  to  Jurgen  he  suggested  very  little  of  the 
Lord's  anointed.  To  the  contrary,  he  reminded  you  of 
Jurgen's  brother-in-law,  the  grocer,  without  being  graced 
by  the  tradesman's  friendly  interest  in  customers. 
Gogyrvan  Gawr  was  a  person  whom  Jurgen  simply  could 
not  imagine  any  intelligent  Deity  selecting  as  steward. 
And  finally,  wrhen  it  came  to  serving  women,  what  sort 
of  service  did  women  most  cordially  appreciate  ?  Jurgen 
had  his  answer  pat  enough,  but  it  was  an  answer  not 
suitable  for  utterance  in  a  mixed  company. 

"No  one  of  my  honest  opinions,  in  fact,  is  adapted  to 
further  my  popularity  in  Glathion,  because  I  am  a  mon 
strous  clever  fellow  who  does  justice  to  things  as  they 
are.  Therefore  I  must  remember  always,  in  justice  to 
myself,  that  I  very  probably  hold  traffic  with  madmen. 
Yet  Rome  was  a  fine  town,  and  it  was  geese  who  saved  it. 
These  people  may  be  right;  and  certainly  I  cannot  go 
so  far  as  to  say  they  are  wrong:  but  still,  at  the  same 
time — !  Yes,  that  is  how  I  feel  about  it." 

Thus  did  Jurgen  abide  at  the  chivalrous  court  of 
Glathion,  and  conform  to  all  its  customs.  In  the  matter 
of  love-songs  nobody  protested  more  movingly  that  the 
lady  whom  he  loved  (quite  hopelessly,  of  course),  em 
bodied  all  divine  perfections:  and  when  it  came  to 
knightly  service,  the  possession  of  Caliburn  made  the 
despatching  of  thieves  and  giants  and  dragons  seem 


PRELIMINARY  TACTICS  OF  DUKE  JURGEN       103 

hardly  sportsmanlike.  Still,  Jurgen  fought  a  little,  now 
and  then,  in  order  to  conform  to  the  customs  of  Glathion : 
and  the  Duke  of  Logreus  was  widely  praised  as  a  very 
promising  young  knight. 

And  all  the  while  he  fretted  because  he  could  just 
dimly  perceive  that  ideal  which  was  served  in  Glathion, 
and  the  beauty  of  this  ideal,  but  could  not  possibly  believe 
in  it.  Here  was,  again,  a  loveliness  perceived  in  twilight, 
a  beauty  not  clearly  visioned. 

"Yet  am  not  I  a  monstrous  clever  fellow,"  he  would 
console  himself,  "to  take  them  all  in  so  completely?  It 
is  a  joke  to  which,  I  think,  I  do  full  justice." 

So  Jurgen  abode  among  these  persons  to  whom  life 
was  a  high-hearted  journeying  homeward.  God  the 
Father  awaited  you  there,  ready  to  punish  at  need,  but 
eager  to  forgive,  after  the  manner  of  all  fathers:  that 
one  became  a  little  soiled  in  traveling,  and  sometimes 
blundered  into  the  wrong  lane,  was  a  matter  which 
fathers  understood :  meanwhile  here  was  an  ever-present 
reminder  of  His  perfection  incarnated  in  woman,  the 
finest  and  the  noblest  of  His  creations.  Thus  was  every 
woman  a  symbol  to  be  honored  magnanimously  and  rever 
ently.  So  said  they  all. 

"Why,  but  to  be  sure !"  assented  Jurgen.  And  in  sup 
port  of  his  position  he  very  edifyingly  quoted  Ophelion, 
and  Fabianus  Papirius,  and  Sextius  Niger  to  boot. 


15. 

Of  Compromises  in  Glathion 


THE  tale  records  that  it  was  not  a  great  while 
before,  in  simple  justice  to  Guenevere,  Duke  Jur- 
gen  had  afforded  her  the  advantage  of  frank  con 
versation  in  actual  privacy.  For  conventions  have  to  be 
regarded,  of  course.  Thus  the  time  of  a  princess  is  not 
her  own,  and  at  any  hour  of  day  all  sorts  of  people  are 
apt  to  request  an  audience  just  when  some  most  improving 
conversation  is  progressing  famously:  but  the  Hall  of 
Judgment  stood  vacant  and  unguarded  at  night. 

"But  I  would  never  consider  doing  such  a  thing,"  said 
Guenevere:  "and  whatever  must  you  think  of  me,  to 
make  such  a  proposal !" 

"That  too,  my  dearest,  is  a  matter  which  I  can  only 
explain  in  private." 

"And  if  I  were  to  report  your  insolence  to  my  father — " 

"You  would  annoy  him  exceedingly:  and  from  such 
griefs  it  is  our  duty  to  shield  the  aged." 

"And  besides,  I  am  afraid." 

"Oh,  my  dearest,"  says  Jurgen,  and  his  voice  quavered, 
because  his  love  and  his  sorrow  seemed  very  great  to 
him:  "but,  oh,  my  dearest,  can  it  be  that  you  have  noi 
faith  in  me !  For  with  all  my  body  and  soul  I  love  you, 
as  I  have  loved  you  ever  since  I  first  raised  your  face 
between  my  hands,  and  understood  that  I  had  never 

104 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  GLATHION  105 


before  known  beauty.  Indeed,  I  love  you  as,  I  think,  no 
man  has  ever  loved  any  woman  that  lived  in  the  long 
time  that  is  gone,  for  my  love  is  worship,  and  no  less. 
The  touch  of  your  hand  sets  me  to  trembling,  dear ;  and 
the  look  of  your  gray  eyes  makes  me  forget  there  is  any 
thing  of  pain  or  grief  or  evil  anywhere :  for  you  are  the 
loveliest  thing  God  ever  made,  with  joy  in  the  new  skill 
that  had  come  to  His  fingers.  And  you  have  not  faith 
in  me!" 

Then  the  Princess  gave  a  little  sobbing  laugh  of  con 
tent  and  repentance,  and  she  clasped  the  hand  of  hef 
grief-stricken  lover.  "Forgive  me,  Jurgen,  for  I  cannot 
bear  to  see  you  so  unhappy !" 

"Ah,  and  what  is  my  grief  to  you!"  he  asks  of  her, 
bitterly. 

"Much,  oh,  very  much,  my  dear!"  she  whispered. 

So  in  the  upshot  Jurgen  was  never  to  forget  that 
moment  wherein  he  waited  behind  the  door,  and  through 
the  crack  between  the  half-open  door  and  the  door-frame 
saw  Guenevere  approach  irresolutely,  a  wavering  white 
blur  in  the  dark  corridor.  She  came  to  talk  with  him 
where  they  would  not  be  bothered  with  interruptions :  but 
she  came  delightfully  perfumed,  in  her  night-shift,  and 
in  nothing  else.  Jurgen  wondered  at  the  way  of  these 
women  even  as  his  arms  went  about  her  in  the  gloom. 
He  remembered  always  the  feel  of  that  warm  and  slender 
and  yielding  body,  naked  under  the  thin  fabric  of  the 
shift,  as  his  arms  first  went  about  her:  of  all  their 
moments  together  that  last  breathless  minute  before 
either  of  them  had  spoken  stayed  in  his  memory  as  the 
most  perfect. 

And  yet  what  followed  was  pleasant  enough,  for  now  it 


106  JURGEN 


was  to  the  wide  and  softly  cushioned  throne  of  a  king, 
no  less,  that  Guenevere  and  Jurgen  resorted,  so  as  to 
talk  where  they  would  not  be  bothered  with  interruptions. 
The  throne  of  Gogyrvan  was  perfectly  dark,  under  its 
canopy,  in  the  unlighted  hall,  and  in  the  dark  nobody  can 
see  what  happens. 

Thereafter  these  two  contrived  to  talk  together  nightly 
upon  the  throne  of  Glathion:  but  what  remained  in 
Jurgen's  memory  was  that  last  moment  behind  the  door, 
and  the  six  tall  windows  upon  the  east  side  of  the  hall, 
those  windows  which  were  of  commingled  blue  and  silver, 
but  were  all  an  opulent  glitter,  throughout  that  time  in 
the  night  when  the  moon  was  clear  of  the  tree-tops  and 
had  not  yet  risen  high  enough  to  be  shut  off  by  the  eaves. 
For  that  was  all  which  Jurgen  really  saw  in  the  Hall  of 
Judgment.  There  would  be  a  brief  period  wherein  upon 
the  floor  beneath  each  window  would  show  a  narrow 
quadrangle  of  moonlight :  but  the  windows  were  set  in  a 
wall  so  deep  that  this  soon  passed.  On  the  west  side 
were  six  windows  also,  but  about  these  was  a  porch; 
so  no  light  ever  came  from  the  west. 

Thus  in  the  dark  they  would  laugh  and  talk  with 
lowered  voices.  Jurgen  came  to  these  encounters  well 
primed  with  wine,  and  in  consequence,  as  he  quite  com 
prehended,  talked  like  an  angel,  without  confining  him 
self  exclusively  to  celestial  topics.  He  was  often  de 
lighted  by  his  own  brilliance,  and  it  seemed  to  him  a  pity 
there  was  no  one  handy  to  take  it  down :  so  much  of  his 
talking  was  necessarily  just  a  little  over  the  head  of  any 
girl,  however  beautiful  and  adorable. 

And  Guenevere,  he  found,  talked  infinitely  better  at 
night.  It  was  not  altogether  the  wine  which  made  him 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  GLATHION  107 


think  that,  either :  the  girl  displayed  a  side  she  veiled  in 
the  day  time.  A  girl,  far  less  a  princess,  is  not  supposed 
to  know  more  than  agrees  with  a  man's  notion  of  maid 
enly  ignorance,  she  contended. 

"Nobody  ever  told  me  anything  about  so  many  inter 
esting  matters.  Why,  I  remember — "  And  Guenevere 
narrated  a  quaintly  pathetic  little  story,  here  irrelevant,  of 
what  had  befallen  her  some  three  or  four  years  earlier. 
"My  mother  was  living  then:  but  she  had  never  said  a 
word  about  such  things,  and  frightened  as  I  was,  I  did 
not  go  to  her." 

Jurgen  asked  questions. 

"Why,  yes.  There  was  nothing  else  to  do.  I  cannot 
talk  freely  with  my  maids  and  ladies  even  now.  I  can 
not  question  them,  that  is :  of  course  I  can  listen  as  they 
talk  among  themselves.  For  me  to  do  more  would  be 
unbecoming  in  a  princess.  And  I  wonder  quietly  about 
so  many  things !"  She  educed  instances.  "After  that  I 
used  to  notice  the  animals  and  the  poultry.  So  I  worked 
out  problems  for  myself,  after  a  fashion.  But  nobody 
ever  told  me  anything  directly." 

"Yet  I  dare  say  that  Thragnar — well,  the  Troll  King, 
being  very  wise,  must  have  made  zoology  much  clearer." 

"Thragnar  was  a  skilled  enchanter,"  says  a  demure 
voice  in  the  dark;  "and  through  the  potency  of  his 
abominable  arts,  I  can  remember  nothing  whatever  about 
Thragnar." 

Jurgen  laughed,  ruefully.  Still,  he  was  tolerably  sure 
about  Thragnar  now. 

So  they  talked:  and  Jurgen  marvelled,  as  millions  of 
men  had  done  aforetime,  and  have  done  since,  at  the 
girl's  eagerness,  now  that  barriers  were  down,  to  discuss 


108  JURGEN 


in  considerable  detail  all  such  matters  as  etiquette  had 
previously  compelled  them  to  ignore.  About  her  ladies 
in  waiting,  for  example,  she  afforded  him  some  very 
curious  data:  and  concerning  men  in  general  she  asked 
innumerable  questions  that  Jurgen  found  delicious. 

Such  innocence  combined — upon  the  whole — with  a 
certain  moral  obtuseness,  seemed  inconceivable.  For  to 
Jurgen  it  now  appeared  that  Guenevere  was  behaving 
with  not  quite  the  decorum  which  might  fairly  be 
expected  of  a  princess.  Contrition,  at  least,  one  might 
have  looked  for,  over  this  hole  and  corner  business: 
whereas  it  worried  him  to  note  that  Guenevere  was 
coming  to  accept  affairs  almost  as  a  matter  of  course. 
Certainly  she  did  not  seem  to  think  at  all  of  any  wicked 
ness  anywhere :  the  utmost  she  suggested  was  the  neces 
sity  of  being  very  careful.  And  while  she  never  con 
tradicted  him  in  these  private  conversations,  and  sub 
mitted  in  everything  to  his  judgment,  her  motive  now 
appeared  to  be  hardly  more  than  a  wish  to  please  him. 
It  was  almost  as  though  she  were  humoring  him  in  his 
foolishness.  And  all  this  within  six  weeks!  reflected 
Jurgen:  and  he  nibbled  his  finger-nails,  with  a  mental 
side-glance  toward  the  opinions  of  King  Gogyrvan  Gawr. 

But  in  daylight  the  Princess  remained  unchanged.  In 
daylight  Jurgen  adored  her,  but  with  no  feeling  of  inti 
macy.  Very  rarely  did  occasion  serve  for  them  to  be 
actually  alone  in  the  day  time.  Once  or  twice,  though, 
he  kissed  her  in  open  sunlight:  and  then  her  eyes  were 
melting  but  wary,  and  the  whole  affair  was  rather  flat. 
She  did  not  repulse  him :  but  she  stayed  a  princess,  appre 
ciative  of  her  station,  and  seemed  not  at  all  the  invisible 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  GLATHION  109 


person  who  talked  with  him  at  night  in  the  Hall  of 
Judgment. 

Presently,  by  common  consent,  they  began  to  avoid  each 
other  by  daylight.  Indeed,  the  time  of  the  Princess  was 
now  pre-occupied :  for  now  had  come  into  Glathion  a 
ship  with  saffron  colored  sails,  and  having  for  its  figure 
head  a  dragon  that  was  painted  with  thirty  colors.  Such 
was  the  ship  which  brought  Messire  Merlin  Ambrosius 
and  Dame  Anaitis,  the  Lady  of  the  Lake,  with  a  great 
retinue,  to  fetch  young  Guenevere  to  London,  where  she 
was  to  be  married  to  King  Arthur. 

First  there  was  a  week  of  feasting  and  tourneys  anc! 
high  mirth  of  every  kind.  Now  the  trumpets  blared,  and 
upon  a  scaffolding  that  was  gay  with  pennons  and  smart 
tapestries  King  Gogyrvan  sat  nodding  and  blinking  in  his 
brightest  raiment,  to  judge  who  did  the  best :  and  into  the 
field  came  joyously  a  press  of  dukes  and  earls  and  barons 
and  many  famous  knights,  to  contend  for  honor  and  a 
trumpery  chaplet  of  pearls. 

Jurgen  shrugged,  and  honored  custom.  The  Duke  of 
Logreus  acquitted  himself  with  credit  in  the  opening 
tournament,  unhorsing  Sir  Dodinas  le  Sauvage,  Earl  Roth 
of  Meliot,  Sir  Epinogris,  and  Sir  Hector  de  Maris :  then 
Earl  Damas  of  Listenise  smote  like  a  whirlwind,  and 
Jurgen  slid  contentedly  down  the  tail  of  his  fine  horse. 
His  part  in  the  tournament  was  ended,  and  he  was  heartily 
glad  of  it.  He  preferred  to  contemplate  rather  than  share 
in  such  festivities:  and  he  now  followed  his  bent  with 
a  most  exquisite  misery,  because  he  considered  that  never 
had  any  other  poet  occupied  a  situation  more  picturesque. 

By  day  he  was  the  Duke  of  Logreus,  which  in  itself 
was  a  notable  advance  upon  pawnbroking:  after  nightfall 


110  JURGEN 


he  discounted  the  peculiar  privileges  of  a  king.  It  was 
the  secrecy,  the  deluding  of  everybody,  which  he  espe 
cially  enjoyed:  and  in  the  thought  of  what  a  monstrous 
clever  fellow  was  Jurgen,  he  almost  lost  sight  of  the  fact 
that  he  was  miserable  over  the  impending  marriage  of 
the  lady  he  loved. 

Once  or  twice  he  caught  the  tail-end  of  a  glance  from 
Gogyrvan's  bright  old  eye.  Jurgen  by  this  time  abhorred 
Gogyrvan,  as  a  person  of  abominably  unjust  dealings. 

"To  take  no  better  care  of  his  own  daughter,"  Jurgen 
considered,  "is  infamous.  The  man  is  neglecting  his 
duties  as  a  father,  and  to  do  that  is  not  fair." 


16. 

Divers  Imbroglios  of  King  Smoit 


NOW  it  befell  that  for  three  nights  in  succession 
the  Princess  Guenevere  was  unable  to  converse 
with  Jurgen  in  the  Hall  of  Judgment.  So  upon 
one  of  these  disengaged  evenings  Duke  Jurgen  held  a 
carouse  with  Aribert  and  Urien,  two  of  Gogyrvan's 
barons,  who  had  just  returned  from  Pengwaed-Gir,  and 
had  queer  tales  to  narrate  of  the  Trooping  Fairies  who 
garrison  that  place. 

All  three  were  seasoned  topers,  so  Jurgen  went  to  bed 
prepared  for  anything.  Later  he  sat  up  in  bed,  and 
found  it  was  much  as  he  had  suspected.  The  room  was 
haunted,  and  at  the  foot  of  his  couch  were  two  ghosts : 
one  an  impudent-looking  leering  phantom,  in  a  suit  of 
old-fashioned  armor,  and  the  other  a  beautiful  pale  lady, 
in  the  customary  flowing  white  draperies. 

"Good-morning  to  you  both,"  says  Jurgen,  "and  sorry 
am  I  that  I  cannot  truthfully  observe  I  am  glad  to  see 
you.  Though  you  are  welcome  enough  if  you  can  manage 
to  haunt  the  room  quietly."  Then,  seeing  that  both  phan 
toms  looked  puzzled,  Jurgen  proceeded  to  explain.  "Last 
year,  when  I  was  traveling  upon  business  in  Westphalia, 
it  was  my  grief  to  spend  a  night  in  the  haunted  castle 
of  Neuedesberg,  for  I  could  not  get  any  sleep  at  all  in 
that  place.  There  was  a  ghost  in  charge  who  persisted  in 

111 


112  JURGEN 


rattling  very  large  iron  chains  and  in  groaning  dismally 
throughout  the  night.  Then  toward  morning  he  took  the 
form  of  a  monstrous  cat,  and  climbed  upon  the  foot  of 
my  bed:  and  there  he  squatted  yowling  until  daybreak. 
And  as  I  am  ignorant  of  German,  I  was  not  able  to  con 
vey  to  him  any  idea  of  my  disapproval  of  his  conduct. 
Now  I  trust  that  as  compatriots,  or  as  I  might  say  with 
more  exactness,  as  former  compatriots,  you  will  appre 
ciate  that  such  behavior  is  out  of  all  reason." 

"Messire,"  says  the  male  ghost,  and  he  oozed  to  his 
full  height,  "you  are  guilty  of  impertinence  in  harboring 
such  a  suspicion.  I  can  only  hope  it  proceeds  from  ignor 


ance." 


"For  I  am  sure,"  put  in  the  lady,  "that  I  always  dis1 
liked  cats,  and  we  never  had  them  about  the  castle." 

"And  you  must  pardon  my  frankness,  messire,"  con 
tinued  the  male  ghost,  "but  you  cannot  have  moved  widely 
in  noble  company  if  you  are  indeed  unable  to  distinguish 
between  members  of  the  feline  species  and  of  the  reigning 
family  of  Glathion." 

"Well,  I  have  seen  dowager  queens  who  justified  some 
such  confusion,"  observed  Jurgen.  "Still,  I  entreat  the 
forgiveness  of  both  of  you,  for  I  had  no  idea  that  I  was 
addressing  royalty." 

"I  was  King  Smoit,"  explained  the  male  phantom, 
"and  this  was  my  ninth  wife,  Queen  Sylvia  Tereu." 

Jurgen  bowed  as  gracefully,  he  flattered  himself,  as 
was  possible  in  his  circumstances.  It  is  not  easy  to  bow 
gracefully  while  sitting  erect  in  bed. 

"Often  and  over  again  have  I  heard  of  you,  King 
Smoit,"  says  Jurgen.  "You  were  the  grandfather  of 
Gogyrvan  Gawr,  and  you  murdered  your  ninth  wife,  and 


DIVERS  IMBROGLIOS  OF  KING  SMOIT  113 


your  eighth  wife,  and  your  fifth  wife,  and  your  third 
wife  too  :  and  you  went  under  the  title  of  the  Black  King, 
for  you  were  reputed  the  wickedest  monarch  that  ever 
reigned  in  Glathion  and  the  Red  Islands.," 

It  seemed  to  Jurgen  that  King  Smoit  evinced  embar 
rassment,  but  it  is  hard  to  be  quite  certain  when  a 
ghost  is  blushing.  "Perhaps  I  was  spoken  of  in  some 
such  terms,"  says  Smoit,  "for  the  neighbors  were  cen 
sorious  gossips,  and  I  was  not  lucky  in  my  marriages. 
And  I  regret,  I  bitterly  regret,  to  confess  that,  in  a 
moment  of  extreme  yet  not  quite  unprovoked  excitement, 
I  assassinated  the  lady  whom  you  now  behold." 

"And  I  am  sure,  through  no  fault  of  mine,"  says  Sylvia 
Tereu. 

"Certainly,  my  dear,  you  resisted  with  all  your  might. 
I  only  wish  that  you  had  been  a  larger  and  a  brawnier 
woman.  But  you,  messire,  can  now  perceive,  I  suppose, 
the  folly  of  expecting  a  high  King  of  Glathion,  and  the 
queen  that  he  took  delight  in,  to  sit  upon  your  bed  and 
howl?" 

So  then,  upon  reflection,  Jurgen  admitted  he  had  never 
had  that  experience ;  nor,  he  handsomely  added,  could  he 
recall  any  similar  incident  among  his  friends. 

"The  notion  is  certainly  preposterous,"  went  on  King 
Smoit,  and  very  grimly  he  smiled.  "We  are  drawn  hither 
by  quite  other  intentions.  In  fact,  we  wish  to  ask  of 
you,  as  a  member  of  the  family,  your  assistance  in  a 
delicate  affair." 

"I  would  be  delighted,"  Jurgen  stated,  "to  aid  you  in 
any  possible  way.  But  why  do  you  call  me  a  member  of 
the  family?" 

"Now,  to  deal  frankly,"  says  Smoit,  with  a  grin,  "I 


114  JURGEN 


am  not  claiming  any  alliance  with  the  Duke  of  Logreus — " 

"Sometimes,"  says  Jurgen,  "one  prefers  to  travel  incog 
nito.  As  a  king,  you  ought  to  understand  that." 

— "My  interest  is  rather  in  the  grandson  of  Steinvor. 
Now  you  will  remember  your  grandmother  Steinvor  as, 
I  do  not  doubt,  a  charming  old  lady.  But  I  remember 
Steinvor,  the  wife  of  Ludwig,  as  one  of  the  loveliest  girls 
that  a  king's  eyes  ever  lighted  on." 

"Oh,  sir,"  says  Jurgen,  horrified,  "and  what  is  this  you1 
are  telling  me !" 

"Merely  that  I  had  always  an  affectionate  nature," 
replied  King  Smoit,  "and  that  I  was  a  fine  upstanding 
young  king  in  those  days.  And  one  of  the  results  of  my 
being  these  things  was  your  father,  whom  men  called 
Coth  the  son  of  Ludwig.  But  I  can  assure  you  Ludwig 
had  done  nothing  to  deserve  it." 

"Well,  well !"  said  Jurgen :  "all  this  is  very  scandalous : 
and  very  upsetting,  too,  it  is  to  have  a  brand-new  grand 
father  foisted  upon  you  at  this  hour  of  the  morning. 
Still,  it  happened  a  great  while  ago:  and  if  Ludwig  did 
not  fret  over  it,  I  see  no  reason  why  I  should  do  so.  And 
besides,  King  Smoit,  it  may  be  that  you  are  not  telling 
me  the  truth." 

"If  you  doubt  my  confession,  messire  my  grandson, 
you  have  only  to  look  into  the  next  mirror.  It  is  precisely 
on  this  account  that  we  have  ventured  to  dispel  your 
slumbers.  For  to  me  you  bear  a  striking  resemblance. 
You  have  the  family  face." 

Now  Jurgen  considered  the  lineaments  of  King  Smoit 
of  Glathion.  "Really,"  said  Jurgen,  "  of  course  it  is  very- 
flattering  to  be  told  that  your  appearance  is  regal.  I  do 
not  at  all  know  what  to  say  in  reply  to  the  implied  cornp!;- 


DIVERS  IMBROGLIOS  OF  KING  SMOIT  115 


merit,  without  seeming  uncivil.  I  would  never  for  a 
moment  question  that  you  were  much  admired  in  your 
day,  sir,  and  no  doubt  very  justly  so.  None  the  less — 
well,  my  nose,  now,  from  such  glimpses  of  it  as  mirrors 
have  hitherto  afforded,  does  not  appear  to  be  a  snub- 
nose." 

"Ah,  but  appearances  are  proverbially  deceitful,"  ob 
served  King  Smoit. 

"And  about  the  left  hand  corner,"  protested  Queen 
Sylvia  Tereu,  "I  detect  a  distinct  resemblance." 

"Now  I  may  seem  unduly  obtuse,"  said  Jurgen,  "for 
I  am  a  little  obtuse.  It  is  a  habit  with  me,  a  very  bad 
habit  formed  in  early  infancy,  and  I  have  never  been  able 
to  break  myself  of  it.  And  so  I  have  not  any  notion  at 
what  you  two  are  aiming." 

Replied  the  ghost  of  King  Smoit:  "I  will  explain. 
Just  sixty-three  years  ago  to-night  I  murdered  my  nintft 
wife  in  circumstances  of  peculiar  brutality,  as  you  with 
rather  questionable  taste  have  mentioned." 

Then  Jurgen  was  somewhat  abashed,  and  felt  that  it  did 
not  become  him,  who  had  so  recently  cut  off  the  head  of 
his  own  wife,  to  assume  the  airs  of  a  precisian.  "Of 
course,"  says  Jurgen,  more  broad-mindedly,  "these  little 
family  differences  are  always  apt  to  occur  in  married 
life." 

"So  be  it!  Though,  by  the  so-and-sos  of  Ursula's 
eleven  thousand  traveling  companions,  there  was  a  time 
wherein  I  would  not  have  brooked  such  criticism.  Ah, 
well,  that  time  is  overpast,  and  I  am  a  bloodless  thing  that 
the  wind  sweeps  at  the  wind's  will  through  lands  in  which 
but  yesterday  King  Smoit  was  dreaded.  So  I  let  that 
which  has  been  be." 


116  JURGEN 


"Well,  that  seems  reasonable,"  said  Jurgen,  "and  to  be 
a  trifle  rhetorical  is  the  privilege  of  grandfathers.  There 
fore  I  entreat  you,  sir,  to  continue." 

"Two  years  afterward  I  followed  the  Emperor  Locrine 
in  his  expedition  against  the  Suevetii,  an  evil  and  luxuri 
ous  people  who  worship  Gozarin  peculiarly,  by  means  of 
little  boats.  I  must  tell  you,  grandson,  that  was  a  goodly 
raid,  conducted  by  a  band  of  tidy  fighters  in  a  land  of 
wealth  and  of  fine  women.  But  alack,  as  the  saying  is, 
in  our  return  from  Osnach  my  loved  general  Locrine 
was  captured  by  that  arch-fiend  Duke  Corineus  of  Corn 
wall:  and  I,  among  many  others  who  had  followed  the 
Emperor,  paid  for  our  merry  larcenies  and  throat-cuttings 
a  very  bitter  price.  Corineus  was  not  at  all  broad- 
minded,  not  what  you  would  call  a  man  of  the  world. 
So  it  was  in  a  noisome  dungeon  that  I  was  incarcerated, 
— I,  Smoit  of  Glathion,  who  conquered  Enisgarth  and 
Sargyll  in  open  battle  and  fearlessly  married  the  heiress 
of  Camwy!  But  I  spare  you  the  unpleasant  details.  It 
suffices  to  say  that  I  was  dissatisfied  with  my  quarters. 
Yet  fain  to  leave  them  as  I  became,  there  was  but  one 
way.  It  involved  the  slaying  of  my  gaoler,  a  step  which 
was,  I  confess,  to  me  distasteful.  I  was  getting  on  in 
life,  and  had  grown  tired  of  killing  people.  Yet,  to 
mature  deliberation,  the  life  of  a  graceless  varlet,  void 
of  all  gentleness  and  with  no  bowels  of  compassion,  and 
deaf  to  suggestions  of  bribery,  appeared  of  no  over 
whelming  importance." 

"I  can  readily  imagine,  grandfather,  that  you  were  not 
deeply  interested  in  either  the  nature  or  the  anatomy  of 
your  gaoler.  So  you  did  what  was  unavoidable." 

"Yes,  I  treacherously  slew  him,  and  escaped  in  an  im- 


DIVERS  IMBROGLIOS  OF  KING  SMOIT  117 


penetrable  disguise  to  Glathion,  where  not  long  afterward 
I  died.  My  dying  just  then  was  most  annoying,  for  I 
was  on  the  point  of  being  married,  and  she  was  a  remark 
ably  attractive  girl, — King  Tyrnog's  daughter,  from 
Craintnor  way.  She  would  have  been  my  thirteenth 
wife.  And  not  a  week  before  the  ceremony  I  tripped 
and  fell  down  my  own  castle  steps,  and  broke  my  neck. 
It  was  a  humiliating  end  for  one  who  had  been  a  warrior 
of  considerable  repute.  Upon  my  word,  it  made  me  think 
there  might  be  something,  after  all,  in  those  old  super- 
stitions  about  thirteen  being  an  unlucky  number.  But 
what  was  I  saying  ? — oh,  yes !  It  is  also  unlucky  to  be 
careless  about  one's  murders.  You  will  readily  under 
stand  that  for  one  or  two  such  affairs  I  am  condemned 
yearly  to  haunt  the  scene  of  my  crime  on  its  anniversary : 
such  an  arrangement  is  fair  enough,  and  I  make  no  com 
plaint,  though  of  course  it  does  rather  break  into  the 
evening.  But  it  happened  that  I  treacherously  slew  my 
gaoler  with  a  large  cobble-stone  on  the  fifteenth  of  June. 
Now  the  unfortunate  part,  the  really  awkward  feature, 
was  that  this  was  to  an  hour  the  anniversary  of  the  death 
of  my  ninth  wife." 

"And  you  murdering  insignificant  strangers  on  such  a 
day!"  said  Queen  Sylvia.  "You  climbing  out  of  jail 
windows  figged  out  as  a  lady  abbess,  on  an  anniversary 
you  ought  to  have  kept  on  your  knees  in  unavailing  re 
pentance  !  But  you  were  a  hard  man,  Smoit,  and  it  was 
little  loving  courtesy  you  showed  your  wife  at  a  time 
when  she  might  reasonably  look  to  be  remembered,  and 
that  is  a  fact." 

"My  dear,  I  admit  it  was  heedless  of  me.  I  could  not 
possibly  say  more.  At  any  rate,  grandson,  I  discovered 


118  JURGEN 


after  my  decease  that  such  heedlessness  t  entailed  my 
haunting  on  every  fifteenth  of  June  at  three  in  the  morn 
ing  two  separate  places." 

"Well,  but  that  was  justice,"  says  Jurgen. 

"It  may  have  been  justice,"  Smoit  admitted:  "but  my 
point  is  that  it  happened  to  be  impossible.  However,  I 
was  aided  by  my  great-great-grandfather  Penpingon 
Vreichvras  ap  Mylwald  Glasanief .  He  too  had  the  family 
face ;  and  in  every  way  resembled  me  so  closely  that  he 
impersonated  me  to  everyone's  entire  satisfaction;  and 
with  my  wife's  assistance  re-enacted  my  disastrous  crime 
upon  the  scene  of  its  occurrence,  June  after  June." 

"Indeed,"  said  Queen  Sylvia,  "he  handled  his  sword 
infinitely  better  than  you,  my  dear.  It  was  a  thrilling 
pleasure  to  be  murdered  by  Penpingon  Vreichvras  ap 
Mylwald  Glasanief,  and  I  shall  always  regret  him." 

"For  you  must  understand,  grandson,  that  the  term  of 
King  Penpingon  Vreichvras  ap  Mywald  Glasanief 's  stay 
in  Purgatory  has  now  run  out,  and  he  has  recently  gone 
to  Heaven.  That  was  pleasant  for  him,  I  dare  say,  so 
I  do  not  complain.  Still,  it  leaves  me  with  no  one  to  take 
my  place.  Angels,  as  you  will  readily  understand,  are  not 
permitted  to  perpetrate  murders,  even  in  the  way  of  kind 
ness.  It  might  be  thought  to  establish  a  dangerous 
precedent." 

"All  this,"  said  Jurgen,  "seems  regrettable,  but  not 
strikingly  explicit.  I  have  a  heart  and  a  half  to  serve 
you,  sir,  with  not  seven-eighths  of  a  notion  as  to  what  you 
want  of  me.  Come,  put  a  name  to  it!" 

"You  have,  as  I  have  said,  the  family  face.  You  are, 
in  fact,  the  living  counterpart  of  Smoit  of  Glathion.  So 
I  beseech  you,  messire  my  grandson,  for  this  one  night 


DIVERS  IMBROGLIOS  OF  KING  SMOIT          119 


to  impersonate  my  ghost,  and  with  the  assistance  of 
Queen  Sylvia  Tereu  to  see  that  at  three  o'clock  the  White 
Turret  is  haunted  to  everyone's  satisfaction.  Otherwise," 
said  Smoit,  gloomily,  "the  consequences  will  be  deplor 
able." 

"But  I  have  had  no  experience  at  haunting,"  Jurgen 
confessed.  "It  is  a  pursuit  in  which  I  do  not  pretend  to 
competence :  and  I  do  not  even  know  just  how  one  goes 
about  it." 

"That  matter  is  simple,  although  mysterious  prelimin 
aries  will  be,  of  course,  necessitated,  in  order  to  convert 
a  living  person  into  a  ghost — " 

"The  usual  preliminaries,  sir,  are  out  of  the  question : 
and  I  must  positively  decline  to  be  stabbed  or  poisoned 
or  anything  of  that  kind,  even  to  humor  my  grandfather.'* 

Both  Smoit  and  Sylvia  protested  that  any  such  radical 
step  would  be  superfluous,  since  Jurgen's  ghostship  was 
to  be  transient.  In  fact,  all  Jurgen  would  have  to  do 
would  be  to  drain  the  embossed  goblet  which  Sylvia  Tereu 
held  out  to  him,  with  Druidical  invocations. 

And  for  a  moment  Jurgen  hesitated.  The  whole  busi 
ness  seemed  rather  improbable.  Still,  the  ties  of  kin  are 
strong,  and  it  is  not  often  one  gets  the  chance  to  aid, 
however  slightly,  one's  long-dead  grandfather:  besides, 
the  potion  smelt  very  invitingly. 

"Well,"  says  Jurgen,  "I  am  willing  to  taste  any  drink 
once."  Then  Jurgen  drank. 

The  flavor  was  excellent.  Yet  the  drink  seemed  not  to 
affect  Jurgen,  at  first.  Then  he  began  to  feel  a  trifle 
light-headed.  Next  he  looked  downward,  and  was  sur 
prised  to  notice  there  was  nobody  in  his  bed.  Closer 
investigation  revealed  the  shadowy  outline  of  a  human 


120  JURGEN 


figure,  through  which  the  bedclothing  had  collapsed. 
This,  he  decided,  was  all  that  was  left  of  Jurgen.  And 
it  gave  him  a  queer  sensation.  Jurgen  jumped  like  a 
startled  horse,  and  so  violently  that  he  flew  out  of  bed, 
and  found  himself  floating  imponderably  about  the  room. 

Now  Jurgen  recognized  the  feeling  perfectly.  He  had 
often  had  it  in  his  sleep,  in  dreams  wherein  he  would  bend 
his  legs  at  the  knees  so  that  his  feet  came  up  behind  him, 
and  he  would  pass  through  the  air  without  any  effort. 
Then  it  seemed  ridiculously  simple,  and  he  would  wonder 
why  he  never  thought  of  it  before.  And  then  he  would  re 
flect  :  "This  is  an  excellent  way  of  getting  around.  I  will 
come  to  breakfast  this  way  in  the  morning,  and  show  Lisa 
how  simple  it  is.  How  it  will  astonish  her,  to  be  sure, 
and  how  clever  she  will  think  me!"  And  then  Jurgen 
would  wake  up,  and  find  that  somehow  he  had  forgotten 
the  trick  of  it. 

But  just  now  this  manner  of  locomotion  was  undeniably 
easy.  So  Jurgen  floated  around  his  bed  once  or  twice, 
then  to  the  ceiling,  for  practice.  Through  inexperience, 
he  miscalculated  the  necessary  force,  and  popped  through 
into  the  room  above,  where  he  found  himself  hovering 
immediately  over  the  Bishop  of  Merion.  His  eminence 
was  not  alone,  but  as  both  occupants  of  the  apartment 
were  asleep,  Jurgen  witnessed  nothing  unepiscopal.  Now 
Jurgen  rejoined  his  grandfather,  and  girded  on  charmed 
Caliburn,  and  demanded  what  must  next  be  done. 

"The  assassination  will  take  place  in  the  White  Turret, 
as  usual.  Queen  Sylvia  will  instruct  you  in  the  details. 
You  can  invent  most  of  the  affair,  however,  as  the  Lady 


DIVERS  IMBROGLIOS  OF  KING  SMOIT  121 


of  the  Lake,  who  occupies  this  room  to-night,  is  very 
probably  unacquainted  with  our  terrible  history." 

Then  King  Smoit  observed  that  it  was  high  time  he 
kept  his  appointment  in  Cornwall,  and  he  melted  into 
air,  with  an  easy  confidence  that  bespoke  long  prac 
tise  :  and  Jurgen  followed  Queen  Sylvia  Tereu. 


17. 

About  a  Cock  That  Crowed  Too  Soon 


NEXT  the  tale  tells  of  how  Jurgen  and  the  ghost  of 
Queen  Sylvia  Tereu  came  into  the  White  Turret. 
The  Lady  of  the  Lake  was  in  bed:  she  slept 
unaccompanied,  as  Jurgen  noted  with  approval,  for  he 
wished  to  intrude  upon  no  more  tete-a-tetes.  And  Dame* 
Anaitis  did  not  at  first  awake. 

Now  this  was  a  gloomy  and  high-paneled  apartment, 
with  exactly  the  traditional  amount  of  moonlight  stream 
ing  through  two  windows.  Any  ghost,  even  an  appren 
tice,  could  have  acquitted  himself  with  credit  in  such 
surroundings,  and  Jurgen  thought  he  did  extremely  well. 
He  was  atavistically  brutal,  and  to  improvise  the  accom 
panying  dialogue  he  did  not  find  difficult.  So  everything 
went  smoothly,  and  with  such  spirit  that  Anaitis  was 
presently  wakened  by  Queen  Sylvia's  very  moving  wails 
for  mercy,  and  sat  erect  in  bed,  as  though  a  little  startled. 
Then  the  Lady  of  the  Lake  leaned  back  among  the  pil 
lows,  and  witnessed  the  remainder  of  the  terrible  scene 
with  remarkable  self-possession. 

So  it  was  that  the  tragedy  swelled  to  its  appalling 
climax,  and  subsided  handsomely.  With  the  aid  of 
Caliburn,  Jurgen  had  murdered  his  temporary  wife.  He 
had  dragged  her  insensate  body  across  the  floor,  by  the 
hair  of  her  head,  and  had  carefully  remembered  first  to 

122 


ABOUT  A  COCK  THAT  CROWED  TOO  SOON  123 


put  her  comb  in  his  pocket,  as  Queen  Sylvia  had  re 
quested,  so  that  it  would  not  be  lost.  He  had  given  vent 
to  several  fiendish  "Ha-ha's"  and  all  the  old  high  im 
precations  he  remembered:  and  in  short,  everything  had 
gone  splendidly  when  he  left  the  White  Turret  with  a 
sense  of  self -approval  and  Queen  Sylvia  Tereu. 

The  two  of  them  paused  in  the  winding  stairway;  and 
in  the  darkness,  after  he  had  restored  her  comb,  the 
Queen  was  telling  Jurgen  how  sorry  she  was  to  part 
with  him. 

"For  it  is  back  to  the  cold  grave  I  must  be  going  now, 
Messire  Jurgen,  and  to  the  tall  flames  of  Purgatory:  and 
it  may  be  that  I  shall  not  ever  see  you  any  more." 

"I  shall  regret  the  circumstance,  madame,"  says  Jurgen, 
"for  you  are  the  loveliest  person  I  have  ever  seen." 

The  Queen  was  pleased.  '"That  is  a  delightfully  boyish 
speech,  and  one  can  see  it  comes  from  the  heart.  I  only 
wish  that  I  could  meet  with  such  unsophisticated  per 
sons  in  my  present  abode.  Instead,  I  am  herded  with 
battered  sinners  who  have  no  heart,  who  are  not  frank 
and  outspoken  about  anything,  and  I  detest  their  affecta 
tions/' 

"Ah,  then  you  are  not  happy  with  your  husband, 
Sylvia?  I  suspected  as  much." 

"I  see  very  little  of  Smoit.  It  is  true  he  has  eight 
other  wives  all  resident  in  the  same  flame,  and  cannot  well 
show  any  partiality.  Two  of  his  Queens,  though,  went 
straight  to  Heaven :  and  his  eighth  wife,  Gudrun,  we  are 
compelled  to  fear,  must  have  been  an  unrepentant  sinner, 
for  she  has  never  reached  Purgatory.  But  I  always  dis 
trusted  Gudrun,  myself:  otherwise  I  would  never  have 
suggested  to  Smoit  that  he  have  her  strangled  in  order 


124  JURGEN 


to  make  me  his  queen.  You  see,  I  thought  it  a  fine 
thing  to  be  a  queen,  in  those  days,  Jurgen,  when  I  was  an 
artless  slip  of  a  girl.  And  Smoit  was  all  honey  and 
perfume  and  velvet,  in  those  days,  Jurgen,  and  little  did 
I  suspect  the  cruel  fate  that  was  to  befall  me." 

"Indeed,  it  is  a  sad  thing,  Sylvia,  to  be  murdered  by 
the  hand  which,  so  to  speak,  is  sworn  to  keep  an  eye  on 
your  welfare,  and  which  rightfully  should  serve  you  on 
its  knees." 

"It  was  not  that  I  minded.  Smoit  killed  me  in  a  fit 
of  jealousy,  and  jealousy  is  in  its  blundering  way  a  com 
pliment.  No,  a  worse  thing  than  that  befell  me,  Jurgen, 
and  embittered  all  my  life  in  the  flesh."  And  Sylvia 
began  to  weep. 

"And  what  was  that  thing,  Sylvia?" 

Queen  Sylvia  whispered  the  terrible  truth.  "My  hus 
band  did  not  understand  me." 

"Now,  by  Heaven,"  says  Jurgen,  "when  a  woman  tells 
me  that,  even  though  the  woman  be  dead,  I  know  what 
it  is  she  expects  of  me." 

So  Jurgen  put  his  arm  about  the  ghost  of  Queen 
Sylvia  Tereu,  and  comforted  her.  Then,  finding  her 
quite  willing  to  be  comforted,  Jurgen  sat  for  a  while  upon 
the  dark  steps,  with  one  arm  still  about  Queen  Sylvia. 
The  effect  of  the  potion  had  evidently  worn  off,  because 
Jurgen  found  himself  to  be  composed  no  longer  of  cool 
imponderable  vapor,  but  of  the  warmest  and  hardest 
sort  of  flesh  everywhere.  But  probably  the  effect  of  the 
wine  which  Jurgen  had  drunk  earlier  in  the  evening  had 
not  worn  off :  for  now  Jurgen  began  to  talk  wildishly  in 
the  dark,  about  the  necessity  of  his,  in  some  way,  aveng 
ing  the  injury  inflicted  upon  his  nominal  grandfather, 


ABOUT  A  COCK  THAT  CROWED  TOO  SOON  125 


Ludwig,  and  Jurgen  drew  his  sword,  charmed  Caliburn. 

"For,  as  you  perceive,"  said  Jurgen,  "I  carry  such 
weapons  as  are  sufficient  for  all  ordinary  encounters. 
And  am  I  not  to  use  them,  to  requite  King  Smoit  for 
the  injustice  he  did  poor  Ludwig?  Why,  certainly  I 
must.  It  is  my  duty." 

"Ah,  but  Smoit  by  this  is  back  in  Purgatory,"  Queen 
Sylvia  protested,  "And  to  draw  your  sword  against  a 
woman  is  cowardly." 

'The  avenging  sword  of  Jurgen,  my  charming  Sylvia, 
is  the  terror  of  envious  men,  but  it  is  the  comfort  of  all 
pretty  women." 

"It  is  undoubtedly  a  very  large  sword,"  said  she: 
"oh,  a  magnificent  sword,  as  I  can  perceive  even  in  the 
dark.  But  Smoit,  I  repeat,  is  not  here  to  measure  weap 
ons  with  you." 

"Now  your  arguments  irritate  me,  whereas  an  honest 
woman  would  see  to  it  that  all  the  legacies  of  her 
dead  husband  were  duly  satisfied — " 

"Oh,  oh!  and  what  do  you  mean — ?" 

"Well,  but  certainly  a  grandson  is — at  one  remove,  I 
grant  you, — a  sort  of  legacy." 

"There  is  something  in  what  you  advance — " 

"There  is  a  great  deal  in  what  I  advance,  I  can  assure 
you.  It  is  the  most  natural  and  most  penetrating  kind 
of  logic;  and  I  wish  merely  to  discharge  a  duty — " 

"But  you  upset  me,  with  that  big  sword  of  yours,  you 
make  me  nervous,  and  I  cannot  argue  so  long  as  you  are 
flourishing  it  about.  Come  now,  put  up  your  sword! 
Oh,  what  is  anybody  to  do  with  you !  Here  is  the  sheath 
for  your  sword,"  says  she. 

At  this  point  they  were  interrupted. 


126  JURGEN 


"Duke  of  Logreus,"  says  the  voice  of  Dame  Anaitis, 
"do  you  not  think  it  would  be  better  to  retire,  before 
such  antics  at  the  door  of  my  bedroom  give  rise  to  a 
scandal?" 

For  Anaitis  had  half -opened  the  door  of  her  bedroom, 
and  with  a  lamp  in  her  hand,  was  peering  out  into  the 
narrow  stairway.  Jurgen  was  a  little  embarrassed,  for 
his  apparent  intimacy  with  a  lady  who  had  been  dead 
for  sixty-three  years  would  be,  he  felt,  a  matter  difficult 
to  explain.  So  Jurgen  rose  to  his  feet,  and  hastily  put 
up  the  weapon  he  had  exhibited  to  Queen  Sylvia,  and 
decided  to  pass  airily  over  the  whole  affair.  And 
outside,  a  cock  crowed,  for  it  was  now  dawn. 

"I  bid  you  a  good  morning,  Dame  Anaitis,"  said 
Jurgen.  "But  the  stairways  hereabouts  are  confusing, 
and  I  must  have  lost  my  way.  I  was  going  for  a 
stroll.  This  is  my  distant  relative  Queen  Sylvia  Tereu, 
who  kindly  offered  to  accompany  me.  We  were  going 
out  to  gather  mushrooms  and  to  watch  the  sunrise,  you 
conceive." 

"Messire  de  Logreus,  I  think  you  had  far  better  go 
back  to  bed." 

"To  the  contrary,  madame,  it  is  my  manifest  duty  to 
serve  as  Queen  Sylvia's  escort — " 

"For  all  that,  messire,  I  do  not  see  any  Queen  Sylvia." 

Jurgen  looked  about  him.  And  certainly  his  grand 
father's  ninth  wife  was  no  longer  visible.  "Yes,  she 
has  vanished.  But  that  was  to  be  expected  at  cockcrow. 
Still,  that  cock  crew  just  at  the  wrong  moment,"  said 
Jurgen,  ruefully.  "It  was  not  fair." 

And  Dame  Anaitis  said:  "Gogyrvan's  cellar  is  well 
stocked:  and  you  sat  late  with  Urien  and  Aribert: 


ABOUT  A  COCK  THAT  CROWED  TOO  SOON   127 


and  doubtless  they  also  were  lucky  enough  to  discover 
a  queen  or  two  in  Gogyrvan's  cellar.  No  less,  I  think 
you  are  still  a  little  drunk." 

"Now  answer  me  this,  Dame  Anaitis:  were  you  not 
visited  by  two  ghosts  to-night  ?" 

"Why,  that  is  as  it  may  be,"  she  replied:  "but  the 
White  Turret  is  notoriously  haunted,  and  it  is  few  quiet 
nights  I  have  passed  there,  for  Gogyrvan's  people  were 
a  bad  lot." 

"Upon  my  word,"  wonders  Jurgen,  "what  manner 
of  person  is  this  Dame  Anaitis,  who  remains  unstirred 
by  such  a  brutal  murder  as  I  have  committed,  and  makes 
no  more  of  ghosts  than  I  would  of  moths?  I  have 
heard  she  is  an  enchantress,  I  am  sure  she  is  a  fine  figure 
of  a  woman :  and  in  short,  here  is  a  matter  which  would 
repay  looking  into,  were  not  young  Guenevere  the  mis 
tress  of  my  heart." 

Aloud  he  said:  "Perhaps  then  I  am  drunk,  madame. 
None  the  less,  I  still  think  the  cock  crew  just  at  the 
wrong  moment." 

"Some  day  you  must  explain  the  meaning  of  that," 
says  she.  "Meanwhile  I  am  going  back  to  bed,  and  I 
again  advise  you  to  do  the  same." 

Then  the  -door  closed,  the  bolt  fell,  and  Jurgen 
went  away,  still  in  considerable  excitement. 

"This  Dame  Anaitis  is  an  interesting  personality,"  he 
reflected,  "and  it  would  be  a  pleasure,  now,  to  demon 
strate  to  her  my  grievance  against  the  cock,  did  occasion 
serve.  Well,  things  less  likely  than  that  have  happened. 
Then,  too,  she  came  upon  me  when  my  sword  was  out, 
and  in  consequence  knows  I  wield  a  respectable  weapon. 
She  may  feel  the  need  of  a  good  swordsman  some  day, 


128  JURGEN 


this  handsome  Lady  of  the  Lake  who  has  no  husband. 
So  let  us  cultivate  patience.  Meanwhile,  it  appears 
that  I  am  of  royal  blood.  Well,  I  fancy  there  is  some 
thing  in  the  scandal,  for  I  detect  in  me  a  deal  in  common 
with  this  King  Smoit.  Twelve  wives,  though!  no,  that 
is  too  many.  I  would  limit  no  man's  liaisons,  but  twelve 
wives  in  lawful  matrimony  bespeaks  an  optimism 
unknown  to  me.  No,  I  do  not  think  I  am  drunk :  but  it 
is  unquestionable  that  I  am  not  walking  very  straight. 
Certainly,  too,  we  did  drink  a  great  deal.  So  I  had  best 
go  quietly  back  to  bed,  and  say  nothing  more  about 
to-night's  doings." 

As  much  he  did.  And  this  was  the  first  time  that 
Jurgen,  who  had  been  a  pawnbroker,  held  any  discourse 
with  Dame  Anaitis,  whom  men  called  the  Lady  of  the 
Lake. 


18. 

IPhy  Merlin  Talked  in  Twilight 


IT  was  two  days  later  that  Jurgen  was  sent  for  by 
Merlin  Ambrosius.  The  Duke  of  Logreus  came 
to  the  magician  in  twilight,  for  the  windows  of  this 
room  were  covered  with  sheets  which  shut  out  the  full 
radiance  of  day.  Everything  in  the  room  was  thus  visible 
in  a  diffused  and  tempered  light  that  cast  no  shadows.  In 
his  hand  Merlin  held  a  small  mirror,  about  three  inches 
square,  from  which  he  raised  his  dark  eyes  puzzlingly. 

"I  have  been  talking  to  my  fellow  ambassador,  Dame 
Anaitis :  and  I  have  been  wondering,  Messire  de  Logreus, 
if  you  have  ever  reared  white  pigeons." 

Jurgen  looked  at  the  little  mirror.  "There  was  a 
woman  of  the  Leshy  who  not  long  ago  showed  me  an 
employment  to  which  one  might  put  the  blood  of  white 
pigeons.  She  too  used  such  a  mirror.  I  saw  what  fol 
lowed,  but  I  must  tell  you  candidly  that  I  understood 
nothing  of  the  ins  and  outs  of  the  affair/' 

Merlin  nodded.  "I  suspected  something  of  the  sort. 
So  I  elected  to  talk  with  you  in  a  room  wherein,  as  you 
perceive,  there  are  no  shadows." 

"Now,  upon  my  word,"  says  Jurgen,  "but  here  at 
last  is  somebody  who  can  see  my  attendant !  Why  is  it, 
pray,  that  no  one  else  can  do  so?" 

"It  was  my  own  shadow  which  drew  my  notice  to  your 

129 


130  JURGEN 


follower.  For  I,  too,  have  had  a  shadow  given  me.  It 
was  the  gift  of  my  father,  of  whom  you  have  probably 
heard." 

It  was  Jurgen's  turn  to  nod.  Everybody  knew 
who  had  begotten  Merlin  Ambrosius,  and  sensible  per 
sons  preferred  not  to  talk  of  the  matter.  Then  Merlin 
went  on  to  speak  of  the  traffic  between  Merlin  and  Mer 
lin's  shadow. 

"Thus  and  thus,"  says  Merlin,  "I  humor  my  shadow. 
And  thus  and  thus  my  shadow  serves  me.  There  is 
give-and-take,  such  as  is  requisite  everywhere." 

"I  understand,"  says  Jurgen :  "but  has  no  other  person 
ever  perceived  this  shadow  of  yours  ?" 

"Once  only,  when  for  a  while  my  shadow  deserted 
me,"  Merlin  replied.  "It  was  on  a  Sunday  my  shadow 
left  me,  so  that  I  walked  unattended  in  naked  sunlight: 
for  my  shadow  was  embracing  the  church-steeple, 
where  church-goers  knelt  beneath  him.  The  church 
goers  were  obscurely  troubled  without  suspecting 
why,  for  they  looked  only  at  each  other.  The  priest 
and  I  alone  saw  him  quite  clearly, — the  priest  because 
this  thing-  was  evil,  and  I  because  this  thing  was  mine." 

"Well,  now  I  wonder  what  did  the  priest  say  to  your 
bold  shadow?" 

"  'But  you  must  go  away !' — and  the  priest  spoke  with 
out  any  fear.  Why  is  it  they  seem  always  without  fear, 
those  dull  and  calm-eyed  priests?  'Such  conduct  is  un 
seemly.  For  this  is  High  God's  house,  and  far-off  peoples 
are  admonished  by  its  steadfast  spire,  pointing  always 
heavenward,  that  the  place  is  holy,'  said  the  priest.  And 
my  shadow  answered,  'But  I  only  know  that  steeples  are 
of  phallic  origin/  And  my  shadow  wept,  wept  ludi- 


WHY  MERLIN  TALKED  IN  TWILIGHT  131 


crously,  clinging  to  the  steeple  where  church-goers 
knelt  beneath  him." 

"Now,  and  indeed  that  must  have  been  disconcerting, 
Messire  Merlin.  Still,  as  you  got  your  shadow  back 
again,  there  was  no  great  harm  done.  But  why  is  it 
that  such  attendants  follow  some  men  while  other  men 
are  permitted  to  live  in  decent  solitude?  It  does  not  seem 
quite  fair." 

"Perhaps  I  could  explain  it  to  you,  friend,  but  cer 
tainly  I  shall  not.  You  know  too  much  as  it  is.  For 
you  appear  in  that  bright  garment  of  yours  to  have 
come  from  a  land  and  a  time  which  even  I,  who  am 
a  skilled  magician,  can  only  cloudily  foresee,  and  can 
not  understand  at  all.  What  puzzles  me,  however" — 
and  Merlin's  fore-finger  shot  out.  "How  many  feef 
had  the  first  wearer  of  your  shirt?  and  were  you  ever  an 
old  man?"  says  he. 

"Well,  four,  and  I  was  getting  on,"  says  Jurgen. 

"And  I  did  not  guess!  But  certainly  that  is  it, — an 
old  poet  loaned  at  once  a  young  man's  body  and  the  Cen 
taur's  shirt.  Aderes  has  loosed  a  new  jest  into  the 
world,  for  her  own  reasons — " 

"But  you  have  things  backwards.  It  was  Sereda 
whom  I  cajoled  so  nicely." 

"Names  that  are  given  by  men  amount  to  very  little  in 
a  case  like  this.  The  shadow  which  follows  you  I  recog 
nize — and  revere — as  the  gift  of  Aderes,  a  dreadful 
Mother  of  small  Gods.  No  doubt  she  has  a  host  of  other 
names.  And  you  cajoled  her,  you  consider !  I  would  not 
willingly  walk  in  the  shirt  of  any  person  who  considers 
that.  But  she  will  enlighten  you,  my  friend,  at  her 
appointed  time." 


132  JURGEN 


"Well,  so  that  she  deals  justly — "  Jurgen  said,  and 
shrugged. 

Now  Merlin  put  aside  the  mirror.  "Meanwhile  it  was 
another  matter  entirely  that  Dame  Anaitis  and  I  dis 
cussed,  and  about  which  I  wished  to  be  speaking  with 
you.  Gogyrvan  is  sending  to  King  Arthur,  along  with 
Gogyrvan's  daughter,  that  Round  Table  which  Uther 
Pendragon  gave  Gogyrvan,  and  a  hundred  knights  to 
fill  the  sieges  of  this  table.  Gogyrvan,  who,  with  due 
respect,  possesses  a  deplorable  sense  of  humor,  has 
numbered  you  among  these  knights.  Now  it  is  rumored 
the  Princess  is  given  to  conversing  a  great  deal  with 
you  in  private,  and  Arthur  has  never  approved  of  gar 
rulity.  So  I  warn  you  that  for  you  to  come  with  us  to 
London  would  not  be  convenient." 

"I  hardly  think  so,  either,"  said  Jurgen,  with  appro 
priate  melancholy;  "for  me  to  pursue  the  affair  any  fur 
ther  would  only  result  in  marring  what  otherwise  will 
always  be  a  perfect  memory  of  divers  very  pleasant  con 
versations." 

"Old  poet,  you  are  well  advised,"  said  Merlin, — 
"especially  now  that  the  little  princess  whom  we  know 
is  about  to  enter  queenhood  and  become  a  symbol.  I  am 
sorry  for  her,  for  she  will  be  worshipped  as  a  revelation 
of  Heaven's  splendor,  and  being  flesh  and  blood,  she  will 
not  like  it.  And  it  is  to  no  effect  I  have  forewarned 
King  Arthur,  for  that  must  happen  which  will  always 
happen  so  long  as  wisdom  is  impotent  against  human 
stupidity.  So  wisdom  can  but  make  the  best  of  it,  and 
be  content  to  face  the  facts  of  a  great  mystery." 

Thereupon,  Merlin  arose,  and  lifted  the  tapestry  be- 


WHY  MERLIN  TALKED  IN  TWILIGHT  133 


hind  him,  so  that  Jurgen  could  see  what  hitherto  this 

tapestry  had  screened. 

*     *     * 

"You  have  embarrassed  me  horribly,"  said  Jurgen, 
"and  I  can  feel  that  I  am  still  blushing,  about  the  ankles. 
Well,  I  was  wrong :  so  let  us  say  no  more  concerning  it." 

"I  wished  to  show  you,"  Merlin  returned,  "that  I  know 
what  I  am  talking  about.  However,  my  present  pur 
pose  is  to  put  Guenevere  out  of  your  head :  for  in  your 
heart  I  think  she  never  was,  old  poet,  who  go  so  modestly 
in  the  Centaur's  shirt.  Come,  tell  me  now!  and  does 
the  thought  of  her  approaching  marriage  really  disturb 
you?" 

"I  am  the  unhappiest  man  that  breathes,"  said  Jurgen, 
with  unction.  "All  night  I  lie  awake  in  my  tumbled  bed, 
and  think  of  the  miserable  day  which  is  past,  and  of  what 
is  to  happen  in  that  equally  miserable  day  whose 
dawn  I  watch  with  a  sick  heart.  And  I  cry  aloud,  in 
the  immortal  words  of  Apollonius  Myronides — " 

"Of  whom?"  says  Merlin. 

"I  allude  to  the  author  of  the  Myrosis"  Jurgen  ex 
plained, — "whom  so  many  persons  rashly  identify  with 
Apollonius  Herophileius." 

"Oh,  yes,  of  course !  your  quotation  is  very  apt.  Why, 
then  your  condition  is  sad  but  not  incurable.  For  I  am 
about  to  give  you  this  token,  with  which,  if  you  are  bold 
enough,  you  will  do  thus  and  thus." 

"But  indeed  this  is  a  somewhat  strange  token,  and  the 
arms  and  legs,  and  even  the  head,  of  this  little  man  are 
remarkably  alike !  Well,  and  you  tell  me  thus  and  thus. 
But  how  does  it  happen,  Messire  Merlin,  that  you  have 
never  used  this  token  in  the  fashion  you  suggest  to  me  ?" 


134  JURGEN 


"Because  I  was  afraid.  You  forget  I  am  only  a 
magician,  whose  conjuring  raises  nothing  more  formid 
able  than  devils.  But  this  is  a  bit  of  the  Old  Magic  that 
is  no  longer  understood,  and  I  prefer  not  to  meddle  with 
it.  You,  to  the  contrary,  are  a  poet,  and  the  Old  Magic 
was  always  favorable  to  poets." 

"Well,  I  will  think  about  it,"  says  Jurgen,  "if  this  will 
really  put  Dame  Guenevere  out  of  my  head." 

"Be  assured  it  will  do  that,"  said  Merlin.  "For  with 
reason  does  the  Dlrghdgama  declare,  'The  brightness  of 
the  glowworm  cannot  be  compared  to  that  of  a  lamp/  " 

"A  very  pleasant  little  work,  the  Dirghagama,"  said 
Jurgen,  tolerantly — "though  superficial,  of  course." 

Then  Merlin  Ambrosius  gave  Jurgen  the  token,  and 
some  advice. 

So  that  night  Jurgen  told  Guenevere  he  would  not  go 
in  her  train  to  London.  He  told  her  candidly  that  Merlin 
was  suspicious  of  their  intercourse. 

"And  therefore,  in  order  to  protect  you  and  to  protect 
your  fame,  my  dearest  dear,"  said  Jurgen,  "it  is  necessary 
that  I  sacrifice  myself  and  everything  I  prize  in  life.  I 
shall  suffer  very  much :  but  my  consolation  will  be  that  I 
have  dealt  fairly  with  you  whom  I  love  with  an  entire 
heart,  and  shall  have  preserved  you  through  my  misery." 

But  Guenevere  did  not  appear  to  notice  how  noble  this 
was  of  Jurgen.  Instead,  she  wept  very  softly,  in  a  heart 
broken  way  that  Jurgen  found  unbearable. 

"For  no  man,  whether  emperor  or  peasant/'  says  the 
Princess,  "has  ever  been  loved  more  dearly  or  faithfully 
or  more  wholly  without  any  reserve  or  forethought  than 
you,  my  dearest,  have  been  loved  by  me.  All  that  I  had 
I  have  given  you.  All  that  I  had  you  have  taken,  con- 


WHY  MERLIN  TALKED  IN  TWILIGHT  133 


suming  it.  So  now  you  leave  me  with  not  anything  more 
to  give  you,  not  even  any  anger  or  contempt,  now  that  you 
turn  me  adrift,  for  there  is  nothing  in  me  anywhere  save 
love  of  you,  who  are  unworthy." 

"But  I  die  many  deaths/'  said  Jurgen,  "when  you 
speak  thus  to  me."  And  in  point  of  fact,  he  did  feel 
rather  uncomfortable. 

"I  speak  the  truth,  though.  You  have  had  all :  and  so 
you  are  a  little  weary,  and  perhaps  a  little  afraid  of  what 
may  happen  if  you  do  not  break  off  with  me." 

"Now  you  misjudge  me,  darling — " 

"No,  I  do  not  misjudge  you,  Jurgen.  Instead,  for  the 
first  time  I  judge  both  of  us.  You  I  forgive,  because  I 
love  you,  but  myself  I  do  not  forgive,  and  I  cannot  ever 
forgive,  for  having  been  a  spendthrift  fool." 

And  Jurgen  found  such  talking  uncomfortable  and  tedi 
ous  and  very  unfair  to  him.  "For  there  is  nothing  I  can 
do  to  help  matters,"  says  Jurgen.  "Why,  what  could  any 
body  possibly  expect  me  to  do  about  it  ?  And  so  why  not 
be  happy  while  we  may  ?  It  is  not  as  though  we  had  any 
time  to  waste." 

For  this  was  the  last  night  but  one  before  the  day  that 
was  set  for  Guenevere's  departure. 


19. 

The  Brown  Man  with  Queer  Feet 


EARLY  in  the  following  morning  Jurgen  left  Came- 
liard,  traveling  toward  Carohaise,  and  went  into 
the  Druid  forest  there,  and  followed  Merlin's  in 
structions. 

"Not  that  I  for  a  moment  believe  in  such  nonsense," 
said  Jurgen:  "but  it  will  be  amusing  to  see  what  comes 
of  this  business,  and  it  is  unjust  to  deny  even  nonsense  a 
fair  trial." 

So  he  presently  observed  a  sun-browned  brawny  fellow, 
who  sat  upon  the  bank  of  a  stream,  dabbling  his  feet  in 
the  water,  and  making  music  with  a  pipe  constructed  of 
seven  reeds  of  irregular  lengths.  To  him  Jurgen  dis 
played,  in  such  a  manner  as  Merlin  had  prescribed,  the 
token  which  Merlin  had  given.  The  man  made  a  peculiar 
sign,  and  rose.  Jurgen  saw  that  this  man's  feet  were  un 
usual. 

Jurgen  bowed  low,  and  he  said,  as  Merlin  had  bidden : 
"Now  praise  be  to  thee,  thou  lord  of  the  two  truths !  I 
have  come  to  thee,  O  most  wise,  that  I  may  learn  thy 
secret.  I  would  know  thee,  and  would  know  the  forty- 
two  mighty  ones  who  dwell  with  thee  in  the  hall  of  the 
two  truths,  and  who  are  nourished  by  evil-doers,  and  who 
partake  of  wicked  blood  each  day  of  the  reckoning  be 
fore  Wennofree.  I  would  know  thee  for  what  thou  art." 

136 


THE  BROWN  MAN  WITH  QUEER  FEET          137 


The  brown  man  answered :  "I  am  everything  that  was 
and  that  is  to  be.  Never  has  any  mortal  been  able  to 
discover  what  I  am." 

Then  this  brown  man  conducted  Jurgen  to  an  open  glen,- 
at  the  heart  of  the  forest. 

"Merlin  dared  not  come  himself,  because/'  observed  the 
brown  man,  "Merlin  is  wise.  But  you  are  a  poet.  So 
you  will  presently  forget  that  which  you  are  about  to  see, 
or  at  worst  you  will  tell  pleasant  lies  about  it,  particu 
larly  to  yourself." 

"I  do  not  know  about  that,"  says  Jurgen,  "but  I  am 
willing  to  taste  any  drink  once.  What  are  you  about  to 
show  me?" 

The  brown  man  answered :  "All." 

So  it  was  near  evening  when  they  came  out  of  the  glen. 
It  was  dark  now,  for  a  storm  had  risen.  The  brown  man 
was  smiling,  and  Jurgen  was  in  a  flutter. 

"It  is  not  true,"  Jurgen  protested.  "What  you  have 
shown  me  is  a  pack  of  nonsense.  It  is  the  degraded 
lunacy  of  a  so-called  Realist.  It  is  sorcery  and  pure 
childishness  and  abominable  blasphemy.  It  is,  in  a  word, 
something  I  do  not  choose  to  believe.  You  ought  to  be 
ashamed  of  yourself !" 

"Even  so,  you  do  believe  me,  Jurgen." 

"I  believe  that  you  are  an  honest  man  and  that  I  am 
your  cousin :  so  there  are  two  more  lies  for  you." 

The  brown  man  said,  still  smiling:  "Yes,  you  are 
certainly  a  poet,  you  who  have  borrowed  the  apparel  of 
my  cousin.  For  you  come  out  of  my  glen,  and  from  my 
candor,  as  sane  as  when  you  entered.  That  is  not  saying 
much,  to  be  sure,  in  praise  of  a  poet's  sanity  at  any  time. 
But  Merlin  would  have  died,  and  Merlin  would  have  died 


138  JURGEN 


without  regret,  if  Merlin  had  seen  what  you  have  seen, 
because  Merlin  receives  facts  reasonably." 

"Facts !  sanity !  and  reason !"  Jurgen  raged :  "why,  but 
what  nonsense  you  are  talking !  Were  there  a  bit  of  truth 
in  your  silly  puppetry  this  world  of  time  and  space  and 
consciousness  would  be  a  bubble,  a  bubble  which  con 
tained  the  sun  and  moon  and  the  high  stars,  and  still  was 
but  a  bubble  in  fermenting  swill !  I  must  go  cleanse  my 
mind  of  all  this  foulness.  You  would  have  me  believe 
that  men,  that  all  men  who  have  ever  lived  or  shall  ever 
live  hereafter,  that  even  I  am  of  no  importance!  Why, 
there  would  be  no  justice  in  any  such  arrangement,  no 
justice  anywhere!" 

"That  vexed  you,  did  it  not?  It  vexes  me  at  times, 
even  me,  who  under  Koshchei's  will  alone  am  change 
less." 

"I  do  not  know  about  your  variability:  but  I  stick  to 
my  opinion  about  your  veracity,"  says  Jurgen,  for  all  that 
he  was  upon  the  verge  of  hysteria.  "Yes,  if  lies  could 
choke  people  that  shaggy  throat  would  certainly  be  sore." 

Then  the  brown  man  stamped  his  foot,  and  the  striking 
of  his  foot  upon  the  moss  made  a  new  noise  such  as 
Jurgen  had  never  heard:  for  the  noise  seemed  to  come 
multitudinously  from  every  side,  at  first  as  though  each 
leaf  in  the  forest  were  tinily  cachinnating ;  and  then  this 
noise  was  swelled  by  the  mirth  of  larger  creatures,  and 
echoes  played  with  this  noise,  until  there  was  a  reverbera 
tion  everywhere  like  that  of  thunder.  The  earth  moved 
under  their  feet  very  much  as  a  beast  twitches  its  skin 
under  the  annoyance  of  flies.  Another  queer  thing  Jurgen 
noticed,  and  it  was  that  the  trees  about  the  glen  had 
writhed  and  arched  their  trunks,  and  so  had  bended,  much 


THE  BROWN  MAN  WITH  QUEER  FEET          139 


as  candles  bend  in  very  hot  weather,  to  lay  their  topmost 
foliage  at  the  feet  of  the  brown  man.  And  the  brown 
man's  appearance  was  changed  as  he  stood  there,  terrible 
in  a  continuous  brown  glare  from  the  low-hanging  clouds, 
and  with  the  forest  making  obeisance,  and  with  shivering 
and  laughter  everywhere. 

"Make  answer,  you  who  chatter  about  justice !  how  if 
I  slew  you  now,"  says  the  brown  man, — "I  being  what  I 
am?" 

"Slay  me,  then!"  says  Jurgen,  with  shut  eyes,  for  he 
did  not  at  all  like  the  appearance  of  things.  "Yes,  you 
can  kill  me  if  you  choose,  but  it  is  beyond  your  power  to 
make  me  believe  that  there  is  no  justice  anywhere,  and 
that  I  am  unimportant.  For  I  would  have  you  know  I 
am  a  monstrous  clever  fellow.  As  for  you,  you  are  either 
a  delusion  or  a  god  or  a  degraded  Realist.  But  whatever 
you  are,  you  have  lied  to  me,  and  I  know  that  you  have 
lied,  and  I  will  not  believe  in  the  insignificance  of  Jurgen." 

Chillingly  came  the  whisper  of  the  brown  man :    "Poof 

fool !    O  shuddering,  stiff-necked  fool !  and  have  you  nof 

just  seen  that  which  you  may  not  ever  quite  forget?" 

^  "None  the  less,  I  think  there  is  something  in  me  which 

j  will  endure.    I  am  fettered  by  cowardice,  I  am  enfeebled    \ 

\  by  disastrous  memories ;  and  I  am  maimed  by  old  follies. 

•Still,   I  seem  to   detect  in  myself   something  which  is 

permanent  and  rather  fine.    Underneath  everything,  and 

In  spite  of  everything,  I  really  do  seem  to  detect  that 

Something.     What  role  that  something  is  to  enact  after  the 

death  of  my  body,  and  upon  what  stage,  I  cannot  guess. 

When  fortune  knocks  I  shall  open  the  door.    Meanwhile 

I  tell  you  candidly,  you  brown  man,  there  is  something  in 

Jurgen  far  too  admirable  for  any  intelligent  arbiter  ever 


140  JURGEN 


to  fling  into  the  dustheap.  I  am,  if  nothing  else,  a  mon 
strous  clever  fellow:  and  I  think  I  shall  endure,  some 
how.  Yes,  cap  in  hand  goes  through  the  land,  as  the 
saying  is :  and  I  believe  I  can  contrive  some  trick  to  cheat 
oblivion  when  the  need  arises,"  says  Jurgen,  trembling, 
and  gulping,  and  with  his  eyes  shut  tight,  but  even  so, 
with  his  mind  quite  made  up  about  it.  "Of  course  you 
may  be  right ;  and  certainly  I  cannot  go  so  far  as  to  say 
you  are  wrong :  but  stiS,  at  the  same  time — " 

"Now  but  before  a  fool's  opinion  of  himself,"  the 
brown  man  cried,  "the  Gods  are  powerless.  Oh,  yes,  and 
envious,  too !" 

And  when  Jurgen  very  cautiously  opened  his  eyes  the 
brown  man  had  left  him  physically  unharmed.  But  the 
state  of  Jurgen's  nervous  system  was  deplorable. 


20. 

Efficacy  of  Prayer 


JURGEN  went  in  a  tremble  to  the  Cathedral  of  the 
Sacred  Thorn  in  Cameliard.  All  night  Jurgen 
prayed  there,  not  in  repentance,  but  in  terror.  For 
his  dead  he  prayed,  that  they  should  not  have  been  blotted 
out  in  nothingness,  for  the  dead  among  his  kindred  whom 
he  had  loved  in  boyhood,  and  for  these  only.  About  the 
men  and  women  whom  he  had  known  since  then  he  did 
not  seem  to  care,  or  not  at  least  so  vitally.  But  he  put 
up  a  sort  of  prayer  for  Dame  Lisa — "wherever  my  dear 
wife  may  be,  and,  O  God,  grant  that  I  may  come  to  her  at 
last,  and  be  forgiven!"  he  wailed,  and  wondered  if  he 
really  meant  it. 

He  had  forgotten  about  Guenevere.  And  nobody 
knows  what  were  that  night  the  thoughts  of  the  young 
Princess,  nor  if  she  offered  any  prayers,  in  the  deserted 
Hall  of  Judgment. 

In  the  morning  a  sprinkling  of  persons  came  to  early 
mass.  Jurgen  attended  with  fervor,  and  started  door- 
ward  with  the  others.  Just  before  him  a  merchant 
stopped  to  get  a  pebble  from  his  shoe,  and  the  merchant's 
wife  went  forward  to  the  holy- water  font. 

"Madame,  permit  me,"  said  a  handsome  young  esquire, 
and  offered  her  holy  water. 

141 


142  JURGEN 


"At  eleven,"  said  the  merchant's  wife,  in  low  tones. 
"He  will  be  out  all  day." 

"My  dear,"  says  her  husband,  as  he  rejoined  her,  "and 
who  was  the  young  gentleman  ?" 

"Why,  I  do  not  know,  darling.  I  never  saw  him 
before." 

"He  was  certainly  very  civil.  I  wish  there  were  more 
like  him.  And  a  fine  looking  young  fellow,  too !" 

"Was  he  ?  I  did  not  notice,"  said  the  merchant's  wife, 
indifferently. 

And  Jurgen  saw  and  heard  and  regarded  the  departing 
trio  ruefully.  It  seemed  to  him  incredible  the  world 
should  be  going  on  just  as  it  went  before  he  ventured  into 
the  Druid  forest. 

He  paused  before  a  crucifix,  and  he  knelt  and  looked  up 
wistfully.  "If  one  could  only  know,"  says  Jurgen,  "what 
really  happened  in  Judea !  How  immensely  would  matters 
be  simplified,  if  anyone  but  knew  the  truth  about  You, 
Man  upon  the  Cross !" 

Now  the  Bishop  of  Merion  passed  him,  coming  from 
celebration  of  the  early  mass.  "My  Lord  Bishop,"  says 
Jurgen,  simply,  "can  you  tell  me  the  truth  about  this 
Christ?" 

"Why,  indeed,  Messire  de  Logreus,"  replied  the  Bishop, 
"one  cannot  but  sympathize  with  Pilate  in  thinking  that 
the  truth  about  Him  is  very  hard  to  get  at,  even  nowa 
days.  Was  He  Melchisedek,  or  Shem,  or  Adam?  or  was 
He  verily  the  Logos?  and  in  that  event,  what  sort  of  a 
something  was  the  Logos  ?  Granted  He  was  a  god,  were 
the  Arians  or  the  Sabellians  in  the  right?  had  He  existed 
always,  co-substantial  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy 
Spirit,  or  was  He  a  creation  of  the  Father,  a  kind  of 


EFFICACY  OF  PRAYER  143 


Israelitic  Zagreus  ?  Was  He  the  husband  of  Acharamoth, 
that  degraded  Sophia,  as  the  Valentinians  aver?  or  the 
son  of  Pantherus,  as  say  the  Jews?  or  Kalakau,  as  con 
tends  Basilides?  or  was  it,  as  the  Docetes  taught,  only  a 
tinted  cloud  in  the  shape  of  a  man  that  went  from  Jordan' 
to  Golgotha  ?  Or  were  the  Merinthians  right  ?  These  are 
a  few  of  the  questions,  Messire  de  Logreus,  which  natur 
ally  arise.  And  not  all  of  them  are  to  be  settled  out  of 
hand." 

Thus  speaking,  the  gallant  prelate  bowed,  then  raised 
two  fingers  in  benediction,  and  so  quitted  Jurgen,  who 
was  still  kneeling  before  the  crucifix. 

"Ah,  ah !"  says  Jurgen,  to  himself,  "but  what  a  variety 
of  interesting  problems  are,  in  point  of  fact,  suggested  by 
religion.  And  what  delectable  exercise  would  the  set 
tling  of  these  problems,  once  for  all,  afford  the  mind  of 
a  monstrous  clever  fellow !  Come  now,  it  might  be  well 
for  me  to  enter  the  priesthood.  It  may  be  that  I  have  a 
call." 

But  people  were  shouting  in  the  street.  So  Jurgen  rose 
and  dusted  his  knees.  And  as  Jurgen  came  out  of  the 
Cathedral  of  the  Sacred  Thorn  the  cavalcade  was  passing 
that  bore  away  Dame  Guenevere  to  the  arms  and  throne 
of  her  appointed  husband.  Jurgen  stood  upon  the  Cathe 
dral  porch,  his  mind  in  part  pre-occupied  by  theology,  but 
still  not  failing  to  observe  how  beautiful  was  this  young 
princess,  as  she  rode  by  on  her  white  palfrey,  green- 
garbed  and  crowned  and  a-glitter  with  jewels.  She  was 
smiling  as  she  passed  him,  bowing  her  small  tenderly- 
colored  young  countenance  this  way  and  that  way,  to  the 
shouting  people,  and  not  seeing  Jurgen  at  all. 

Thus  she  went  to  her  bridal,  that  Guenevere  who  was 


144  JURGEN 


the  symbol  of  all  beauty  and  purity  to  the  chivalrous 
people  of  Glathion.  The  mob  worshipped  her;  and  they 
spoke  as  though  it  were  an  angel  who  passed. 

"Our  beautiful  young  Princess !" 

"Ah,  there  is  none  like  her  anywhere !" 

"And  never  a  harsh  word  for  anyone,  they  say — !" 

"Oh,  but  she  is  the  most  admirable  of  ladies — !" 

"And  so  brave  too,  that  lovely  smiling  child  who  is 
leaving  her  home  forever !" 

"And  so  very,  very  pretty !" 

" — So  generous!" 

"King  Arthur  will  be  hard  put  to  it  to  deserve  her !" 

Said  Jurgen :  "Now  it  is  droll  that  to  these  truths  I 
have  but  to  add  another  truth  in  order  to  have  large 
paving-stones  flung  at  her!  and  to  have  myself  tumultu- 
ously  torn  into  fragments,  by  those  unpleasantly  sweaty 
persons  who,  thank  Heaven,  are  no  longer  jostling  me !" 

For  the  Cathedral  porch  had  suddenly  emptied,  because 
as  the  procession  passed  heralds  were  scattering  silver 
among  the  spectators. 

"Arthur  will  have  a  very  lovely  queen,"  says  a  soft 
lazy  voice. 

And  Jurgen  turned  and  saw  that  beside  him  was  Dame 
Anaitis,  whom  people  called  the  Lady  of  the  Lake. 

"Yes,  he  is  greatly  to  be  envied,"  says  Jurgen,  politely. 
"But  do  you  not  ride  with  them  to  London?" 

"Why,  no,"  says  the  Lady  of  the  Lake,  "because  my 
part  in  this  bridal  was  done  when  I  mixed  the  stirrup-cup 
of  which  the  Princess  and  young  Lancelot  drank  this 
morning.  He  is  the  son  of  King  Ban  of  Benwick,  that 
tall  young  fellow  in  blue  armor.  I  am  partial  to  Lance 
lot,  for  I  reared  him,  at  the  bottom  of  a  lake  that  be- 


EFFICACY  OF  PRAYER  145 


longs  to  me,  and  I  consider  he  does  me  credit.  I  also 
believe  that  Madame  Guenevere  by  this  time  agrees  with 
me.  And  so,  my  part  being  done  to  serve  my  creator, 
I  am  off  for  Cocaigne." 

"And  what  is  this  Cocaigne?" 

"It  is  an  island  wherein  I  rule." 

"I  did  not  know  you  were  a  queen,  madame." 

"Why,  indeed  there  are  a  many  things  unknown  to 
you,  Messire  de  Logreus,  in  a  world  where  nobody  gets 
any  assuredness  of  knowledge  about  anything.  For 
it  is  a  world  wherein  all  men  that  live  have  but  a  little 
while  to  live,  and  none  knows  his  fate  thereafter.  So 
that  a  man  possesses  nothing  certainly  save  a  brief  loan 
of  his  own  body :  and  yet  the  body  of  man  is  capable  of 
much  curious  pleasure." 

"I  believe/'  said  Jurgen,  as  his  thoughts  shuddered 
away  from  what  he  had  seen  and  heard  in  the  Druid  for 
est,  "that  you  speak  wisdom." 

"Then  in  Cocaigne  we  are  all  wise:  for  that  is  our 
religion.  But  of  what  are  you  thinking,  Duke  of  Log 
reus?" 

"I  was  thinking,"  says  Jurgen,  "that  your  eyes  are 
unlike  the  eyes  of  any  other  woman  that  I  have  ever 
seen." 

Smilingly  the  dark  woman  asked  him  wherein  they 
differed,  and  smilingly  he  said  he  did  not  know.  They 
were  looking  at  each  other  warily.  In  each  glance  an 
experienced  gamester  acknowledged  a  worthy  opponent. 

"Why,  then  you  must  come  with  me  into  Cocaigne," 
says  Anaitis,  "and  see  if  you  cannot  discover  wherein 
lies  that  difference.  For  it  is  not  a  matter  I  would  care 
to  leave  unsettled." 


146  JURGEN 


"Well,  that  seems  only  just  to  you,"  says  Jurgen.  "Yes, 
certainly  I  must  deal  fairly  with  you." 

Then  they  left  the  Cathedral  of  the  Sacred  Thorn, 
walking  together.  The  folk  who  went  toward  London 
were  now  well  out  of  sight  and  hearing,  which  possibly 
accounts  for  the  fact  that  Jurgen  was  now  in  no  wise 
thinking  of  Guenevere.  So  it  was  that  Guenevere  rode 
out  of  Jurgen's  life  for  a  while:  and  as  she  rode  she 
talked  with  Lancelot. 


21. 

How  Anaitis  Voyaged 


NOW  the  tale  tells  that  Jurgen  and  this  Lady  of 
the  Lake  came  presently  to  the  wharves  of 
Cameliard,  and  went  aboard  the  ship  which 
had  brought  Anaitis  and  Merlin  into  Glathion.  This 
ship  was  now  to  every  appearance  deserted:  yet  all  its 
saffron  colored  sails  were  spread,  as  though  in  readiness 
for  the  ship's  departure. 

'The  crew  are  scrambling,  it  may  be,  for  the  largesse, 
and  fighting  over  Gogyrvan's  silver  pieces,"  says  Anaitis, 
"but  I  think  they  will  not  be  long  in  returning.  So  we 
will  sit  here  upon  the  prow,  and  await  their  leisure." 

"But  already  the  vessel  moves,"  says  Jurgen,  "and  I 
hear  behind  us  the  rattling  of  silver  chains  and  the  flap 
ping  of  shifted  saffron-colored  sails." 

"They  are  roguish  fellows,"  says  Anaitis,  smiling. 
"Evidently,  they  hid  from  us,  pretending  there  was  no 
body  aboard.  Now  they  think  to  give  us  a  surprise 
when  the  ship  sets  out  to  sea  as  though  it  were  of  itself. 
But  we  will  disappoint  these  merry  rascals,  by  seeming 
tc  notice  nothing  unusual." 

So  Jurgen  sat  with  Anaitis  in  the  two  tall  chairs  that 
were  in  the  prow  of  the  vessel,  under  a  canopy  of  crim 
son  stuff  embroidered  with  gold  dragons,  and  just  back  of 
the  ship's  figurehead,  which  was  a  dragon  painted  with 

147 


148  JURGEN 


thirty  colors :  and  the  ship  moved  out  of  the  harbor,  and 
so  into  the  open  sea.  Thus  they  passed  Enisgarth. 

"And  it  is  a  queer  crew  that  serve  you,  Ana'itis,  who 
are  Queen  of  Cocaigne :  for  I  can  hear  them  talking,  far 
back  of  us,  and  their  language  is  all  a  cheeping  and  a 
twittering,  as  though  the  mice  and  the  bats  were  holding 
conference/' 

"Why,  you  must  understand  that  these  are  outlanders 
who  speak  a  dialect  of  their  own,  and  are  not  like  any 
other  people  you  have  ever  seen." 

"Indeed,  now,  that  is  very  probable,  for  I  have  seen 
none  of  your  crew.  Sometimes  it  is  as  though 
small  flickerings  passed  over  the  deck,  and  that  is  all." 

"It  is  but  the  heat  waves  rising  from  the  deck,  for  the 
day  is  warmer  than  you  would  think,  sitting  here  under 
this  canopy.  And  besides,  what  call  have  you  and  I  to  be 
bothering  over  the  pranks  of  common  mariners,  so  long 
as  they  do  their  proper  duty  ?" 

"I  was  thinking,  O  woman  with  unusual  eyes,  that 
these  are  hardly  common  mariners." 

"And  I  was  thinking,  Duke  Jurgen,  that  I  would  tell 
you  a  tale  of  the  Old  Gods,  to  make  the  time  speed 
more  pleasantly  as  we  sit  here  untroubled  as  a  god  and 
a  goddess." 

Now  they  had  passed  Camwy:  and  Anaitis  began  to 
narrate  the  history  of  Anistar  and  Calmoora  and  of  the 
unusual  concessions  they  granted  each  other,  and  of  how 
Calmoora  contented  her  five  lovers:  and  Jurgen  found 
the  tale  perturbing. 

While  Anaitis  talked  the  sky  grew  dark,  as  though  the 
sun  were  ashamed  and  veiled  his  shame  with  clouds :  and 
they  went  forward  in  a  gray  twilight  which  deepened 


HOW  ANAITIS  VOYAGED  149 


steadily  over  a  tranquil  sea.  So  they  passed  the  lights 
of  Sargyll,  most  remote  of  the  Red  Islands,  while  Anaitis 
talked  of  Procris  and  King  Minos  and  Pasiphae.  As 
color  went  out  of  the  air  new  colors  entered  into  the  sea, 
which  now  assumed  the  varied  gleams  of  water  that  has 
long  been  stagnant.  And  a  silence  brooded  over  the  sea, 
so  that  there  was  no  noise  anywhere  except  the  sound  of 
the  voice  of  Anaitis,  saying,  "All  men  that  live  have 
but  a  little  while  to  live,  and  none  knows  his  fate  there 
after.  So  that  a  man  possesses  nothing  certainly  save 
a  brief  loan  of  his  own  body;  and  yet  the  body  of  man 
is  capable  of  much  curious  pleasure." 

They  came  thus  to  a  low-lying  naked  beach,  where 
there  was  no  sign  of  habitation.  Anaitis  said  this  was 
the  land  they  were  seeking,  and  they  went  ashore. 

"Even  now,"  says  Jurgen,  "I  have  seen  none  of  the 
crew  who  brought  us  hither." 

And  the  beautiful  dark  woman  shrugged,  and  mar 
veled  why  he  need  perpetually  be  bothering  over  the  do 
ings  of  common  sailors. 

They  went  forward  across  the  beach,  through  sand 
hills,  to  a  moor,  seeing  no  one,  and  walking  in  a  gray  fog. 
They  passed  many  gray  fat  sluggish  worms  and  some 
curious  gray  reptiles  such  as  Jurgen  had  never  imagined 
to  exist,  but  Anaitis  said  these  need  not  trouble  them. 

"So  there  is  no  call  to  be  fingering  your  charmed 
sword  as  we  walk  here,  Duke  Jurgen,  for  these  great 
worms  do  not  ever  harm  the  living." 

"For  whom,  then,  do  they  lie  here  in  wait,  in  this  gray 
fog,  wherethrough  the  green  lights  flutter,  and  where 
through  I  hear  at  times  a  thin  and  far-off  wailing  ?" 


150  JURGEN 


"What  is  that  to  you,  Duke  Jurgen,  since  you  and  I  are 
still  in  the  warm  flesh?  Surely  there  was  never  a  man 
who  asked  more  idle  questions/' 

"Yet  this  is  an  uncomfortable  twilight." 

"To  the  contrary,  you  should  rejoice  that  it  is  a  fog 
too  heavy  to  be  penetrated  by  the  Moon." 

"But  what  have  I  to  do  with  the  Moon  ?" 

"Nothing,  as  yet.  And  that  is  as  well  for  you,  Duke 
Jurgen,  since  it  is  authentically  reported  you  have  derided 
the  day  which  is  sacred  to  the  Moon.  Now  the  Moon 
does  not  love  derision,  as  I  well  know,  for  in  part  I 
serve  the  Moon." 

"Eh?"  says  Jurgen:  and  he  began  to  reflect. 

So  they  came  to  a  wall  that  was  high  and  gray,  and  to 
the  door  which  was  in  the  wall. 

"You  must  knock  two  or  three  times,"  says  Anaitis, 
"to  get  into  Cocaigne." 

Jurgen  observed  the  bronze  knocker  upon  the  door, 
and  he  grinned  in  order  to  hide  his  embarrassment. 

"It  is  a  quaint  fancy,"  said  he,  "and  the  two  constitu 
ents  of  it  appear  to  have  been  modeled  from  life." 

"They  were  copied  very  exactly  from  Adam  and  Eve," 
says  Anaitis,  "who  were  the  first  persons  to  open  this 
gateway." 

"Why,  then,"  says  Jurgen,  "there  is  no  earthly  doubt 
that  men  degenerate,  since  here  under  my  hand  is  the 
proof  of  it." 

With  that  he  knocked,  and  the  door  opened,  and  the 
two  of  them  entered. 


22. 

to  a  Veil  They  Broke 


SO  it  was  that  Jurgen  came  into  Cocaigne,  wherein 
is  the  bedchamber  of  Time.  And  Time,  they  re 
port,  came  in  with  Jurgen,  since  Jurgen  was  mor 
tal  :  and  Time,  they  say,  rejoiced  in  this  respite  from  the 
slow  toil  of  dilapidating  cities  stone  by  stone,  and  with 
his  eyes  tired  by  the  finicky  work  of  etching  in  wrinkles, 
went  happily  into  his  bedchamber,  and  fell  asleep  just 
after  sunset  on  this  fine  evening  in  late  June :  so  that  the 
weather  remained  fair  and  changeless,  with  no  glaring 
sun  rays  anywhere,  and  with  one  large  star  shining  alone 
in  clear  daylight.  This  was  the  star  of  Venus  Mechanitis, 
and  Jurgen  later  derived  considerable  amusement  from 
noting  how  this  star  was  trundled  about  the  dome  of 
heaven  by  a  largish  beetle,  named  Khepre.  And  the  trees 
everywhere  kept  their  first  fresh  foliage,  and  the  birds 
were  about  their  indolent  evening  songs,  all  during  Jur- 
gen's  stay  in  Cocaigne,  for  Time  had  gone  to  sleep  at  the 
pleasantest  hour  of  the  year's  most  pleasant  season.  So 
tells  the  tale. 

And  Jurgen's  shadow  also  went  in  with  Jurgen,  but 
in  Cocaigne  as  in  Glathion,  nobody  save  Jurgen  seemed 
to  notice  this  curious  shadow  which  now  followed  Jurgen 
everywhere. 

In  Cocaigne  Queen  Anaitis  had  a  palace,  where  domes 


152  JURGEN 


and  pinnacles  beyond  numbering  glimmered  with  a  soft 
whiteness  above  the  top  of  an  old  twilit  forest,  wherein 
the  vegetation  was  unlike  that  which  is  nourished  by 
ordinary  earth.  There  was  to  be  seen  in  these  woods,  for 
instance,  a  sort  of  moss  which  made  Jurgen  shudder.  So 
Anaitis  and  Jurgen  came  through  narrow  paths,  like  mur 
muring  green  caverns,  into  a  courtyard  walled  and  paved 
with  yellow  marble,  wherein  was  nothing  save  the  dimly 
colored  statue  of  a  god  with  ten  heads  and  thirty-four 
arms:  he  was  represented  as  very  much  engrossed  by  a 
woman,  and  with  his  unoccupied  hands  was  holding  yet 
other  women. 

"It  is  Jigsbyed,"  said  Anaitis. 

Said  Jurgen:  "I  do  not  criticize.  Nevertheless,  I 
think  this  Jigsbyed  is  carrying  matters  to  extremes." 

Then  they  passed  the  statue  of  Tangaro  Loloquong, 
and  afterward  the  statue  of  Legba.  Jurgen  stroked  his 
chin,  and  his  color  heightened.  "Now  certainly,  Queen 
Anaitis,"  he  said,  "you  have  unusual  taste  in  sculpture." 

Thence  Jurgen  came  with  Anaitis  into  a  white  room, 
with  copper  plaques  upon  the  walls,  and  there  four  girls 
were  heating  water  in  a  brass  tripod.  They  bathed  Jur 
gen,  giving  him  astonishing  caresses  meanwhile — with 
the  tongue,  the  hair,  the  finger-nails,  and  the  tips  of  the 
breasts, — and  they  anointed  him  with  four  oils,  then 
dressed  him  again  in  his  glittering  shirt.  Of  Caliburn, 
said  Anaitis,  there  was  no  present  need:  so  Jurgen's 
sword  was  hung  upon  the  wall. 

These  girls  brought  silver  bowls  containing  wine 
mixed  with  honey,  and  they  brought  pomegranates  and 
eggs  and  barleycorn,  and  triangular  red-colored  loaves, 
whereon  they  sprinkled  sweet-smelling  little  seeds  with 


AS  TO  A  VEIL  THEY  BROKE  153 


formal  gestures.  Then  Anaitis  and  Jurgen  broke  their 
fast,  eating  together  while  the  four  girls  served  them. 

"And  now,"  says  Jurgen,  "and  now,  my  dear,  I  would 
suggest  that  we  enter  into  the  pursuit  of  those  curious 
pleasures  of  which  you  were  telling  me." 

"I  am  very  willing,"  responded  Anaitis,  "since  there  is 
no  one  of  these  pleasures  but  is  purchased  by  some  div 
ersion  of  man's  nature.  Yet  first,  as  I  need  hardly  in 
form  you,  there  is  a  ceremonial  to  be  observed." 

"And  what,  pray,  is  this  ceremonial?" 

"Why,  we  call  it  the  Breaking  of  the  Veil."  And 
Queen  Anaitis  explained  what  they  must  do. 

"Well,"  says  Jurgen,  "I  am  willing  to  taste  any  drink 
once." 

So  Anaitis  led  Jurgen  into  a  sort  of  chapel,  adorned 
with  very  unchurchlike  paintings.  There  were  four 
shrines,  dedicated  severally  to  St.  Cosmo,  to  St.  Darri- 
anus,  to  St.  Guignole  of  Brest,  and  to  St.  Foutin  de  Var- 
ailles.  In  this  chapel  were  a  hooded  man,  clothed  in  long 
garments  that  were  striped  with  white  and  yellow,  and 
two  naked  children,  both  girls.  One  of  the  children  car 
ried  a  censer:  the  other  held  in  one  hand  a  vividly  blue 
pitcher  half  filled  with  water,  and  in  her  left  hand  a 
cellar  of  salt. 

First  of  all,  the  hooded  man  made  Jurgen  ready.  '"Be 
hold  tire  lance,"  said  the  hooded  man,  "which  must  serve 
you  in  this  adventure'." 

"I  accept  the  adventure,"  Jurgen  replied,  ^because  I 
believe  the  weapon  to  be  trustworthy." 

Said  the  hooded  man :  "So  be  it !  but  as  you  are,  so  once 
was  I." 

Meanwhile  Duke  Jurgen  held  the  lance  erect,  shaking 


154 


JURGEN 


it  with  his  right  hand.  This  lance  was  large,  and  the  tip 
of  it  was  red  with  blood. 

"Behold,"  said  Jurgen,  "I  am  a  man  born  of  a  woman 
incomprehensibly.  Now  I,  who  am  miraculous,  am  found 
worthy  to  perform  a  miracle,  and  to  create  that  which 
I  may  not  comprehend." 

Anaitis  took  salt  and  water  from  the  child,  and  min 
gled  these.  "Let  the  salt  of  earth  enable  the  thin  fluid 
to  assume  the  virtue  of  the  teeming  sea !" 

Then,  kneeling,  she  touched  the  lance,  and  began  to 
stroke  it  lovingly.  To  Jurgen  she  said:  "Now  may  you 
be  fervent  of  soul  and  body!  May  the  endless  Serpent 
be  your  crown,  and  the  fertile  flame  of  the  sun  your 
strength!" 

Said  the  hooded  man,  again:  "So  be  it!"  His  voice 
was  high  and  bleating,  because  of  that  which  had  been 
done  to  him. 

"That  therefore  which  we  cannot  understand  we  also 
invoke,"  said  Jurgen.  "By  the  power  of  the  lifted  lance" — 
and  now  with  his  left  hand  he  took  the  hand  of  Anaitis, — 
"I,  being  a  man  born  of  a  woman  incomprehensibly,  now 
seize  upon  that  which  alone  I  desire  with  my  whole 
being.  I  lead  you  toward  the  east.  I  upraise  you  above 
the  earth  and  all  the  things  of  earth." 

Then  Jurgen  raised  Queen  Anaitis  so  that  she  sat  upon 
the  altar,  and  that  which  was  there  before  tumbled  to  the 
ground.  Anaitis  placed  together  the  tips  of  her  thumbs 
and  of  her  fingers,  so  that  her  hands  made  an  open  tri 
angle  ;  and  waited  thus.  Upon  her  head  was  a  network 
of  red  coral,  with  branches  radiating  downward:  her 
gauzy  tunic  had  twenty-two  openings,  so  as  to  admit  all 
imaginable  caresses,  and  was  of  two  colors,  being  shot 


AS  TO  A  VEIL  THEY  BROKE  155 


with  black  and  crimson  curiously  mingled :  her  dark  eyes 
glittered  and  her  breath  came  fast. 

Now  the  hooded  man  and  the  two  naked  girls  per 
formed  their  share  in  the  ceremonial,  which  part  it  is 
not  essential  to  record.  But  Jurgen  was  rather  shocked 
by  it. 

None  the  less,  Jurgen  said:  "O  cord  that  binds  the 
circling  of  the  stars !  O  cup  which  holds  all  time,  all  color, 
and  all  thought !  O  soul  of  space !  not  unto  any  image 
of  thee  do  we  attain  unless  thy  image  show  in  what  we 
are  about  to  do.  Therefore  by  every  plant  which  scatters 
its  seed  and  by  the  moist  warm  garden  which  receives 
and  nourishes  it,  by  the  comminglement  of  bloodshed 
with  pleasure,  by  the  joy  that  mimics  anguish  with  sighs 
and  shudderings,  and  by  the  contentment  which  mimics 
death, — by  all  these  do  we  invoke  thee.  O  thou,  continu 
ous  one,  whose  will  these  children  attend,  and  whom 
I  now  adore  in  this  fair-colored  and  soft  woman's  body, 
it  is  thou  whom  I  honor,  not  any  woman,  in  doing  what 
seems  good  to  me :  and  it  is  thou  who  art  about  to  speak, 
and  not  she." 

Then  Anaitis  said :  "Yea,  for  I  speak  with  the  tongue 
of  every  woman,  and  I  shine  in  the  eyes  of  every  woman, 
when  the  lance  is  lifted.  To  serve  me  is  better  than  all 
else.  When  you  invoke  me  with  a  heart  wherein  is 
kindled  the  serpent  flame,  if  but  for  a  moment,  you  will 
understand  the  delights  of  my  garden,  what  joy  unword- 
able  pulsates  therein,  and  how  potent  is  the  sole  desire 
which  uses  all  of  a  man.  To  serve  me  you  will  then  be 
eager  to  surrender  whatever  else  is  in  your  life:  and 
other  pleasures  you  will  take  with  your  left  hand,  not 
thinking  of  them  entirely:  for  I  am  the  desire  which  uses 


156  JURGEN 


all  of  a  man,  and  so  wastes  nothing.  And  I  accept  you, 
I  yearn  toward  you,  I  who  am  daughter  and  somewhat 
more  than  daughter  to  the  Sun.  I  who  am  all  pleasure, 
all  ruin,  and  a  drunkenness  of  the  inmost  sense,  desire 
you." 

Now  Jurgen  held  his  lance  erect  before  Anaitis.  'O 
secret  of  all  things,  hidden  in  the  being  of  all  which  lives, 
now  that  the  lance  is  exalted  I  do  not  dread  thee:  for 
thou  art  in  me,  and  I  am  thou.  I  am  the  flame  that 
burns  in  every  beating  heart  and  in  the  core  of  the  far 
thest  star.  I  too  am  life  and  the  giver  of  life,  and  in  me 
too  is  death.  Wherein  art  thou  better  than  I?  I  am 
alone :  my  will  is  justice :  and  there  comes  no  other  god 
where  I  am." 

Said  the  hooded  man  behind  Jurgen :  "So  be  it !  but  as 
you  are,  so  once  was  I." 

The  two  naked  children  stood  one  at  each  side  of  An 
aitis,  and  waited  there  trembling.  These  girls,  as  Jurgen 
afterward  learned,  were  Alecto  and  Tisiphone,  two  of  the 
Eumenides.  And  now  Jurgen  shifted  the  red  point  of 
the  lance,  so  that  it  rested  in  the  open  triangle  made  by 
the  fingers  of  Anaitis. 

"I  am  life  and  the  giver  of  life,"  cried  Jurgen.  "Thou 
that  art  one,  that  makest  use  of  all !  I  who  am  a  man  born 
of  woman,  I  in  my  station  honor  thee  in  honoring  this 
desire  which  uses  all  of  a  man.  Make  open  therefore 
the  way  of  creation,  encourage  the  flaming  dust  which 
is  in  our  hearts,  and  aid  us  in  that  flame's  perpetuation! 
For  is  not  that  thy  law  ?" 

Anaitis  answered:  "There  is  no  law  in  Cocaigne  save, 
Do  that  which  seems  good  to  you." 

Then  said  the  naked  children:  "Perhaps  it  is  the  law, 


AS  TO  A  VEIL  THEY  BROKE  157 


but  certainly  it  is  not  justice.  Yet  we  are  little  and  quite 
helpless.  So  presently  we  must  be  made  as  you  are  •  for 
now  you  two  are  no  longer  two,  and  your  flesh  is  not 
shared  merely  with  each  other.  For  your  flesh  becomes 
our  flesh,  and  your  sins  our  sins :  and  we  have  no  choice." 

Jurgen  lifted  Anaitis  from  the  altar,  and  they  went 
into  the  chancel  and  searched  for  the  adytum.  There 
seemed  to  be  no  doors  anywhere  in  the  chancel :  but  pres 
ently  Jurgen  found  an  opening  screened  by  a  pink  veil. 
Jurgen  thrust  with  his  lance  and  broke  this  veil.  He 
heard  the  sound  of  one  brief  wailing  cry:  it  was  fol 
lowed  by  soft  laughter.  So  Jurgen  came  into  the  adytum. 

Black  candles  were  burning  in  this  place,  and  sulphur 
too  was  burning  there,  before  a  scarlet  cross,  of  which 
the  top  was  a  circle,  and  whereon  was  nailed  a  living 
toad.  And  other  curious  matters  Jurgen  likewise  noticed. 

He  laughed,  and  turned  to  Anaitis :  now  that  the 
candles  were  behind  him,  she  was  standing  in  his  shadow. 
"Well,  well!  but  you  are  a  little  old-fashioned,  with  all 
these  equivocal  mummeries.  And  I  did  not  know  that 
civilized  persons  any  longer  retained  sufficient  credulity 
to  wring  a  thrill  from  god-baiting.  Still,  women  must 
be  humored,  bless  them!  and  at  last,  I  take  it,  we  have 
quite  fairly  fulfilled  the  ceremonial  requisite  to  the  pur 
suit  of  curious  pleasures." 

Queen  Anaitis  was  very  beautiful,  even  under  his  be- 
dimming  shadow.  Triumphant  too  was  the  proud  face 
beneath  that  curious  coral  network,  and  yet  this  woman's 
face  was  sad. 

"Dear  fool,"  she  said,  "it  was  not  wise,  when  you 
sang  of  the  Leshy,  to  put  an  affront  upon  Monday.  But 
you  have  forgotten  that.  And  now  you  laugh  because 


158  JURGEN 


that  which  we  have  done  you  do  not  understand:  and 
equally  that  which  I  am  you  do  not  understand." 

"No  matter  what  you  may  be,  my  dear,  I  am  sure  that 
you  will  presently  tell  me  all  about  it.  For  I  assume 
that  you  mean  to  deal  fairly  with  me." 

"I  shall  do  that  which  becomes  me,  Duke  Jurgen — " 

"That  is  it,  my  dear,  precisely !  You  intend  to  be  true 
to  yourself,  whatever  happens.  The  aspiration  does 
you  infinite  honor,  and  I  shall  try  to  help  you.  Now  I 
have  noticed  that  every  woman  is  most  truly  herself," 
says  Jurgen,  oracularly,  "in  the  dark." 

Then  Jurgen  looked  at  her  for  a  moment,  with  twink 
ling  eyes:  then  Anai'tis,  standing  in  his  shadow,  smiled 
with  glowing  eyes :  then  Jurgen  blew  out  those  black 
candles :  and  then  it  was  quite  dark. 


23. 

Shortcomings  of  Prince  Jurgen 


. 

NOW  the  happenings  just  recorded  befell  on  the 
eve  of  the  Nativity  of  St.  John  the  Baptist :  and 
thereafter  Jurgen  abode  in  Cocaigne,  and  com 
plied  with  the  customs  of  that  country. 

In  the  palace  of  Queen  Anaitis,  all  manner  of  pastimes 
were  practised  without  any  cessation.  Jurgen,  who  con 
sidered  himself  to  be  somewhat  of  an  authority  upon 
such  contrivances,  was  soon  astounded  by  his  own  inno 
cence.  For  Anaitis  showed  him  whatever  was  being  done 
in  Cocaigne,  to  this  side  and  to  that  side,  under  the 
direction  of  Anaitis,  whom  Jurgen  found  to  be  a  nature 
myth  of  doubtful  origin  connected  with  the  Moon;  and 
who,  in  consequence,  ruled  not  merely  in  Cocaigne  but 
furtively  swayed  the  tides  of  life  everywhere  the  Moon 
keeps  any  power  over  tides  It  was  the  mission  of  Anaitis 
to  divert  and  turn  aside  and  deflect:  in  this  the  jealous 
Moon  abetted  her  because  sunlight  makes  for  straight 
forwardness.  So  Anaitis  and  the  Moon  were  staunch 
allies.  These  mysteries  of  their  private  relations,  how 
ever,  as  revealed  to  Jurgen,  are  not  very  nicely  repeatable. 

"But  you  dishonored  the  Moon,  Prince  Jurgen,  de 
nying  praise  to  the  day  of  the  Moon.  Or  so,  at  least,  I 
have  heard." 

"I  remember  doing  nothing  of  the  sort.  But  I  remem- 

159 


160  JURGEN 


her  considering  it  unjust  to  devote  one  paltry  day  to  the 
Moon's  majesty.  For  night  is  sacred  to  the  Moon,  each 
night  that  ever  was  the  friend  of  lovers, — night,  the 
renewer  and  begetter  of  all  life." 

"Why,  indeed,  there  is  something  in  that  argument," 
says  Anaitis,  dubiously. 

"  'Something',  do  you  say!  why,  but  to  my  way  of 
thinking  it  proves  the  Moon  is  precisely  seven  times 
more  honorable  than  any  of  the  Leshy.  It  is  merely,  my 
dear,  a  question  of  arithmetic." 

"Was  it  for  that  reason  you  did  not  praise  Pandelis  and 
her  Mondays  with  the  other  Leshy?" 

"Wrhy,  to  be  sure,"  said  Jurgen,  glibly.  "I  did  not 
find  it  at  all  praiseworthy  that  such  an  insignificant  Leshy 
as  Pandelis  should  name  her  day  after  the  Moon :  to  me  it 
seemed  blasphemy."  Then  Jurgen  coughed,  and  looked 
sidewise  at  his  shadow.  "Had  it  been  Sereda,  now,  the 
case  would  have  been  different,  and  the  Moon  might 
well  have  appreciated  the  delicate  compliment." 

Anaitis  appeared  relieved.  "I  shall  report  your  ex 
planation.  Candidly,  there  were  ill  things  in  store  for 
you,  Prince  Jurgen,  because  your  language  was  misunder 
stood.  But  that  which  you  now  say  puts  quite  a  different 
complexion  upon  matters." 

Jurgen  laughed,  not  understanding  the  mystery,  but 
confident  he  could  always  say  whatever  was  required  of 
him. 

"Now  let  us  see  a  little  more  of  Cocaigne !"  cries 
Jurgen. 

For  Jurgen  was  greatly  interested  by  the  pursuits  of 
Cocaigne,  and  for  a  week  or  ten  days  participated  there 
in  industriously.  Anaitis,  who  reported  the  Moon's  honor 


SHORTCOMINGS  OF  PRINCE  JURGEN  161 


to  be  satisfied,  now  spared  no  effort  to  divert  him,  and 
they  investigated  innumerable  pastimes  together. 

'Tor  all  men  that  live  have  but  a  little  while  to  live," 
said  Anaitis,  "and  none  knows  his  fate  thereafter.  So 
that  a  man  possesses  nothing  certainly  save  a  brief  loan 
of  his  body :  and  yet  the  body  of  man  is  capable  of  much 
curious  pleasure.  As  thus  and  thus,"  says  Anaitis.  And 
she  revealed  devices  to  her  Prince  Consort. 

For  Jurgen  found  that  unknowingly  he  had  in  due 
and  proper  form  espoused  Queen  Anaitis,  by  participating 
in  the  Breaking  of  the  Veil,  which  is  the  marriage  cere 
mony  of  Cocaigne.  His  earlier  relations  with  Dame  Lisa 
had,  of  course,  no  legal  standing  in  Cocaigne,  where  the 
Church  is  not  Christian  and  the  Law  is,  Do  that  which 
seems  good  to  you. 

"Well,  when  in  Rome,"  said  Jurgen,  "one  must  be 
romantic.  But  certainly  this  proves  that  nobody  ever 
knows  when  he  is  being  entrapped  into  respectability: 
and  never  did  a  fine  young  fellow  marry  a  high  queen 
with  less  premeditation." 

"Ah,  my  dear,"  says  Anaitis,  "you  were  controlled  by 
the  finger  of  Fate." 

"I  do  not  altogether  like  that  figure  of  speech.  It 
makes  one  seem  too  trivial,  to  be  controlled  by  a  mere 
finger.  No,  it  is  not  quite  complimentary  to  call  what 
prompted  me  a  finger." 

"By  the  long  arm  of  coincidence,  then." 

"Much  more  appropriate,  my  love,"  says  Jurgen,  com 
placently  :  "it  sounds  more  dignified,  and  does  not  wound 
my  self  esteem." 

Now  this  Anaitis  who  was  Queen  of  Cocaigne  was  a 
delicious  tall  dark  woman,  thinnish,  and  lovely,  and  very 


162  JURGEN 


restless.  From  the  first  her  new  Prince  Consort  was 
puzzled  by  her  fervors,  and  presently  was  fretted  by 
them.  He  humbly  failed  to  understand  how  anyone 
could  be  so  frantic  over  Jurgen.  It  seemed  unreasonable. 
And  in  her  more  affectionate  moments  this  nature  myth 
positively  frightened  him:  for  transports  such  as  these 
could  not  but  rouse  discomfortable  reminiscences  of  the 
female  spider,  who  ends  such  recreations  by  devouring 
her  partner. 

"Thus  to  be  loved  is  very  flattering,"  he  would  re 
flect,  "and  I  again  am  Jurgen,  asking  odds  of  none.  But 
even  so,  I  am  mortal.  She  ought  to  remember  that,  in 
common  fairness." 

Then  the  jealousy  of  Anaitis,  while  equally  flattering, 
was  equally  out  of  reason.  She  suspected  everybody, 
seemed  assured  that  every  bosom  cherished  a  mad  pas 
sion  for  Jurgen,  and  that  not  for  a  moment  could  he  be 
trusted.  Well,  as  Jurgen  frankly  conceded,  his  con 
duct  toward  Stella,  that  ill-starred  yogini  of  Indawadi, 
had  in  point  of  fact  displayed,  when  viewed  from  an 
especial  and  quite  unconscionable  point  of  view,  an  as 
pect  which,  when  isolated  by  persons  judging  hastily, 
might,  just  possibly,  appear  to  approach  remotely,  in  one 
or  two  respects,  to  temporary  forgetfulness  of  Anaitis,  if 
indeed  there  were  people  anywhere  so  mentally  deficient 
as  to  find  such  forgetfulness  conceivable. 

But  the  main  thing,  the  really  important  feature,  which 
Anaitis  could  not  be  made  to  understand,  was  that  she 
had  interrupted  her  consort  in  what  was,  in  effect,  a 
philosophical  experiment,  necessarily  attempted  in  the 
dark.  The  muntrus  requisite  to  the  sacti  sodhana  were 


SHORTCOMINGS  OF  PRINCE  JURGEN  163 

always  performed  in  darkness:  everybody  knew  that. 
For  the  rest,  this  Stella  had  asserted  so-and-so;  in 
simple  equity  she  was  entitled  to  a  chance  to  prove  her 
allegations  if  she  could:  so  Jurgen  had  proceeded  to  deal 
fairly  with  her.  Besides,  why  keep  talking  about  this 
Stella,  after  a  vengeance  so  spectacular  and  thorough  as 
that  to  which  Anaitis  had  out  of  hand  resorted?  why  keep 
reverting  to  a  topic  which  was  repugnant  to  Jurgen  and 
visibly  upset  the  dearest  nature  myth  in  all  legend  ?  Was 
it  quite  fair  to  anyone  concerned?  That  was  the  sensi 
ble  way  in  which  Jurgen  put  it. 

Still,  he  became  honestly  fond  of  Anaitis.  Barring  her 
eccentricities  when  roused  to  passion,  she  was  a  generous 
and  kindly  creature,  although  in  Jurgen's  opinion  some 
what  narrow-minded. 

"My  love,"  he  would  say  to  her,  "you  appear  positively 
unable  to  keep  away  from  virtuous  persons !  You  are 
always  seeking  out  the  people  who  endeavor  to  be  up 
right  and  straightforward,  and  you  are  perpetually  laying 
plans  to  divert  these  people.  Ah,  but  why  bother  about 
them?  What  need  have  you  to  wear  yourself  out,  and 
to  devote  your  entire  time  to  such  proselytizing,  when 
you  might  be  so  much  more  agreeably  employed?  You 
should  learn,  in  justice  to  yourself  as  well  as  to  others, 
to  be  tolerant  of  all  things ;  and  to  acknowledge  that  in  a 
being  of  man's  mingled  nature  a  strain  of  respectability 
is  apt  to  develop  every  now  and  then,  whatever  you  might 
prefer." 

But  Anaitis  had  high  notions  as  to  her  mission,  and 
merely  told  him  that  he  ought  not  to  speak  with  levity  of 
such  matters.  "I  would  be  much  happier  staying  at  home 


164  JURGEN 


with  you  and  the  children,"  she  would  say,  "but  I  feel 
that  it  is  my  duty — " 

"And  your  duty  to  whom,  in  heaven's  name?" 

"Please  do  not  employ  such  distasteful  expressions, 
Jurgen.  It  is  my  duty  to  the  power  I  serve,  my  very 
manifest  duty  to  my  creator.  But  you  have  no  sense  of 
religion,  I  am  afraid;  and  the  reflection  is  often  a  con 
siderable  grief  to  me." 

"Ah,  but,  my  dear,  you  are  quite  certain  as  to  who 
made  you,  and  for  what  purpose  you  were  made.  You 
nature  myths  were  created  in  the  Mythopoeic  age  by  the 
perversity  of  old  heathen  nations:  and  you  serve  your 
creator  religiously.  That  is  quite  as  it  should  be.  But 
I  have  no  such  authentic  information  as  to  my  origin  and 
mission  in  life,  I  appear  at  all  events  to  have  no  natural 
talent  for  being  diverted,  I  do  not  take  to  it  whole 
heartedly,  and  these  are  facts  we  have  to  face."  Now 
Jurgen  put  his  arm  around  her.  "My  dear  Anaitis,  you 
must  not  think  it  mere  selfishness  on  my  part.  I  was  born 
with  a  something  lacking  that  is  requisite  for  anyone  who 
aspires  to  be  as  thoroughly  misled  as  most  people:  and 
you  will  have  to  love  me  in  spite  of  it." 

"I  almost  wish  I  had  never  seen  you  as  I  saw  you  in 
that  corridor,  Jurgen.  For  I  felt  drawn  toward  you  then 
and  there.  I  almost  wish  I  had  never  seen  you  at  all. 
I  cannot  help  being  fond  of  you:  and  yet  you  laugh  at  the 
things  I  know  to  be  required  of  me,  and  sometimes  you 
make  me  laugh,  too." 

"But,  darling,  are  you  not  just  the  least,  littlest,  tiniest, 
very  weest  trifle  bigoted?  For  instance,  I  can  see  that 
you  think  I  ought  to  evince  more  interest  in  your  striking 
dances,  and  your  strange  pleasures,  and  your  surprising 


SHORTCOMINGS  OF  PRINCE  JURGEN  165 


caresses,  and  all  your  other  elaborate  diversions.  And  I 
do  think  they  do  you  credit,  great  credit,  and  I  admire 
your  inventiveness  no  less  than  your  industry — " 

"You  have  no  sense  of  reverence,  Jurgen,  you  seem  to. 
have  no  sense  at  all  of  what  is  due  to  one's  creator.  I 
suppose  you  cannot  help  that:  but  you  might  at  least 
remember  it  troubles  me  to  hear  you  talk  so  flippantly  of 
my  religion." 

"But  I  do  not  talk  flippantly—" 

"Indeed  you  do,  though.  And  it  does  not  sound  at  all 
well,  let  me  tell  you." 

" — Instead,  I  but  point  out  that  your  creed  necessitates, 
upon  the  whole,  an  ardor  I  lack.  You,  my  pet,  were 
created  by  perversity :  and  everyone  knows  it  is  the  part 
of  piety  to  worship  one's  creator  in  fashions  acceptable 
to  that  creator.  So,  I  do  not  criticize  your  religious  con 
nections,  dear,  and  nobody  admires  these  ceremonials  of 
your  faith  more  heartily  than  I  do.  I  merely  confess  that 
to  celebrate  these  rites  so  frequently  requires  a  sustention 
of  enthusiasm  which  is  beyond  me.  In  fine,  I  have  not 
your  fervent  temperament,  I  am  more  sceptical.  You 
may  be  right ;  and  certainly  I  cannot  go  so  far  as  to  say 
you  are  wrong :  but  still,  at  the  same  time — !  That  is  how 
I  feel  about  it,  my  precious,  and  that  is  why  I  find,  with 
constant  repetition  of  these  ceremonials,  a  certain  lack  of 
firmness  developing  in  my  responses :  and  finally,  darling, 
that  is  all  there  is  to  it." 

"I  never  in  my  whole  incarnation  had  such  a  Prince 
Consort !  Sometimes  I  think  you  do  not  care  a  bit  about 
me  one  way  or  the  other,  Jurgen." 

"Ah,  but  I  do  care  for  you  very  much.  And  to  prove 
it,  come  now  let  us  try  some  brand-new  diversion,  at  sight 


166  JURGEN 


of  which  the  skies  will  be  blackened  and  the  earth  will 
shudder  or  something  of  that  sort,  and  then  I  will  take 
the  children  fishing,  as  I  promised." 

"No,  Jurgen,  I  do  not  feel  like  diverting  you  just  now. 
You  take  all  the  solemnity  out  of  it  with  your  jeering. 
Besides,  you  are  always  with  the  children.  Jurgen,  I 
believe  you  are  fonder  of  the  children  than  you  are  of 
me.  And  when  you  are  not  with  them  you  are  locked 
up  in  the  Library." 

"Well,  and  was  there  ever  such  a  treasury  as  the 
Library  of  Cocaigne  ?  All  the  diversions  that  you  nature 
myths  have  practised  I  find  recorded  there :  and  to  read 
of  your  ingenious  devices  delights  and  maddens  me.  For 
it  is  eminently  interesting  to  meditate  upon  strange 
pleasures,  and  to  make  verses  about  them  is  the  most 
amiable  of  avocations:  it  is  merely  the  pursuit  of  them 
that  I  would  discourage,  as  disappointing  and  mussy. 
Besides,  the  Library  is  the  only  spot  I  have  to  myself  in 
the  palace,  what  with  your  fellow  nature  myths  making 
the  most  of  life  all  over  the  place." 

"It  is  necessary,  Jurgen,  for  one  in  my  position  to 
entertain  more  or  less.  And  certainly  I  cannot  close  the 
doors  against  my  own  relatives." 

"Such  riffraff,  though,  my  darling!  Such  odds  and 
ends !  I  cannot  congratulate  you  upon  your  kindred,  for 
I  do  not  get  on  at  all  with  these  patchwork  combinations, 
that  are  one-third  man  and  the  other  two-thirds  a  vulgar 
fraction  of  bull  or  hawk  or  goat  or  serpent  or  ape  or 
jackal  or  what  not.  Priapos  is  the  only  male  myth  who 
comes  here  in  anything  like  the  semblance  of  a  complete 
human  being :  and  I  had  infinitely  rather  he  stayed  away, 


SHORTCOMINGS  OF  PRINCE  JURGEN  167 


because  even  I  who  am  Jurgen  cannot  but  be  envious  of 
him." 

"And  why,  pray?" 

"Well,  where  I  go  reasonably  equipped  with  Caliburn, 
Priapos  carries  a  lance  I  envy — " 

"Like  all  the  Bacchic  myths  he  usually  carries  a  thyrsos, 
and  it  is  a  showy  weapon,  certainly ;  but  it  is  not  of  much 
use  in  actual  conflict.'' 

"My  darling !  and  how  do  you  know?" 

"Why,  Jurgen,  how  do  women  always  know  these 
things? — by  intuition,  I  suppose." 

"You  mean  that  you  judge  all  affairs  by  feeling  rather 
than  reason?  Indeed,  I  dare  say  that  is  true  of  most 
women,  and  men  are  daily  chafed  and  delighted,  about 
equally,  by  your  illogical  method  of  putting  things  to 
gether.  But  to  get  back  to  the  congenial  task  of  criticiz 
ing  your  kindred,  your  cousin  Apis,  for  example,  may 
be  a  very  good  sort  of  fellow :  but,  say  what  you  will,  it 
is  ill-advised  of  him  to  be  going  about  in  public  with  a 
bull's  head.  It  makes  him  needlessly  conspicuous,  if  not 
actually  ridiculous :  and  it  puts  me  out  when  I  try  to  talk 
to  him." 

"Now,  Jurgen,  pray  remember  that  you  speak  of  a  very 
generally  respected  myth,  and  that  you  are  being  irrev 
erent—" 

" — And  moreover,  I  take  the  liberty  of  repeating,  my 
darling,  that  even  though  this  Ba  of  Mendes  is  your 
cousin,  it  honestly  does  embarrass  me  to  have  to  meet 
three-quarters  of  a  goat  socially — " 

"But,  Jurgen,  I  must  as  a  ma»tter  of  course  invite  pro 
lific  Ba  to  my  feasts  of  the  Sacae — " 

"Even  so,  my  dear,  in  issuing  invitations  a  hostess  may 


168  JURGEN 


fairly  presuppose  that  her  guests  will  not  make  beasts  of 
themselves.  I  often  wish  that  this  mere  bit  of  ordinary 
civility  were  more  rigorously  observed  by  Ba  and  Hor- 
tanes  and  Fricco  and  Vul  and  Baal-Peor,  and  by  all  your 
other  cousins  who  come  to  visit  you  in  such  a  zoologically 
muddled  condition.  It  shows  a  certain  lack  of  respect  for 
you,  my  darling." 

"Oh,  but  it  is  all  in  the  family,  Jurgen " 

"Besides,  they  have  no  conversation.  They  merely  bel 
low — or  twitter  or  bleat  or  low  or  gibber  or  purr,  accord 
ing  to  their  respective  incarnations, — about  unspeakable 
mysteries  and  monstrous  pleasures  until  I  am  driven  to 
the  verge  of  virtue  by  their  imbecility." 

"If  you  were  more  practical,  Jurgen,  you  would  realize 
that  it  speaks  splendidly  for  anyone  to  be  really  interested 
in  his  vocation " 

"And  your  female  relatives  are  just  as  annoying,  with 
their  eternal  whispered  enigmas,  and  their  crescent  moons, 
and  their  mystic  roses  that  change  color  and  require  con 
tinual  gardening,  and  their  pathetic  belief  that  I  have  time 
to  fool  with  them.  And  the  entire  pack  practises  sym 
bolism  until  the  house  is  positively  littered  with  asherahs 
and  combs  and  phalloses  and  linghams  and  yonis  at*d 
arghas  and  pulleiars  and  talys,  and  I  do  not  know  what 
other  idiotic  toys  that  I  am  continually  stepping  on !" 

"Which  of  those  minxes  has  been  making  up  to  you  ?" 
says  Anaitis,  her  eyes  snapping. 

"Ah,  ah!  now  many  of  your  female  cousins  are  enticing 
enough " 

"I  knew  it!  Oh,  but  you  need  not  think  you  deluded 
me ! 

"My  darling,  pray  consider !  be  reasonable  about  it  I 


SHORTCOMINGS  OF  PRINCE  JURGEN  169 


Your  feminine  guests  at  present  are  Sekhmet  in  the  form 
of  a  lioness,  lo  incarnated  as  a  cow,  Hekt  as  a  frog,  Der- 
ceto  as  a  sturgeon,  and — ah,  yes ! — Thoueris  as  a  hippo  • 
potamus.  I  leave  it  to  your  sense  of  justice,  dear  Anaitis, 
if  of  ladies  with  such  tastes  in  dress  a  lovely  myth  like 
you  can  reasonably  be  jealous." 

"And  I  know  perfectly  well  who  it  is!  It  is  that 
Ephesian  hussy,  and  I  had  several  times  noticed  her  be 
havior.  Very  well,  oh,  very  well,  indeed !  nevertheless,  I 
shall  have  a  plain  word  or  two  with  her  at  once,  and  the 
sooner  she  gets  out  of  my  house  the  better,  as  I  shall  tell 
her  quite  frankly.  And  as  for  you,  Jurgen !" 

"But,  my  dear  Lisa !" 

"What  do  you  call  me?  Lisa  was  never  an  epithet  of 
mine.  Why  do  you  call  me  Lisa  ?" 

"It  was  a  slip  of  the  tongue,  my  pet,  an  involuntary  but 
not  unnatural  association  of  ideas.  As  for  the  Ephesian 
Diana,  she  reminds  me  of  an  animated  pine-cone,  with 
that  eruption  of  breasts  all  over  her,  and  I  can  assure  you 
of  your  having  no  particular  reason  to  be  jealous  of  her. 
It  was  merely  of  the  female  myths  in  general  I  spoke.  Cf 
course  they  all  make  eyes  at  me :  I  cannot  well  help  that, 
and  you  should  have  anticipated  as  much  when  you 
selected  such  an  attractive  Prince  Consort.  What  do 
these  poor  enamored  creatures  matter  when  to  you  my 
heart  is  ever  faithful?" 

"It  is  not  your  heart  I  am  worrying  over,  Jurgen,  for 
I  believe  you  have  none.  Yes,  you  have  quite  succeeded 
in  worrying  me  to  distraction,  if  that  is  any  comfort  to 
you.  However,  let  us  not  talk  about  it.  For  it  is  now 
necessary,  absolutely  imperative,  that  I  go  into  Armenia 
to  take  part  in  the  mourning  for  Tammouz :  people  would 


170  JURGEN 


not  understand  it  at  all  if  I  stayed  away  from  such  im 
portant  orgies.  And  I  shall  get  no  benefit  whatever  from 
the  trip,  much  as  I  need  the  change,  because,  without 
speaking  of  that  famous  heart  of  yours,  you  are  always 
up  to  some  double-dealing,  and  I  shall  not  know  into  what 
mischief  you  may  be  thrusting  yourself." 

Jurgen  laughed,  and  kissed  her.  "Be  off,  and  attend  to 
your  religious  duties,  dear,  by  all  means.  And  I  promise 
you  I  will  stay  safe  locked  in  the  Library  till  you  come 
back." 

Thus  Jurgen  abode  among  the  offspring  of  heathen 
perversity,  and  conformed  to  their  customs.  Death  ends 
all  things  for  all,  they  contended,  and  life  is  brief :  for 
how  few  years  do  men  endure,  and  how  quickly  is  the 
most  subtle  and  appalling  nature  myth  explained  away  by 
the  Philologists !  So  the  wise  person,  and  equally  the 
foreseeing  nature  myth,  will  take  his  glut  of  pleasure 
while  there  is  yet  time  to  take  anything,  and  will  waste 
none  of  his  short  lien  upon  desire  and  vigor  by  asking 
questions. 

"Oh,  but  by  all  means !"  said  Jurgen,  and  ha  docilely 
crowned  himself  with  a  rose  garland,  and  drank  his  wine, 
and  kissed  his  Anaitis.  Then,  when  the  feast  of  the 
Sacae  was  at  full-tide,  he  would  whisper  to  Anaitis,  "I 
will  be  back  in  a  moment,  darling,"  and  she  would  frown 
fondly  at  him  as  he  very  quietly  slipped  from  his  ivory 
dining  couch,  and  went,  with  the  merest  suspicion  of  a 
reel,  into  the  Library.  She  knew  that  Jurgen  had  no  in 
tention  of  coming  back:  and  she  despaired  of  his  ever 
taking  the  position  in  the  social  life  of  Cocaigne  to  which 
he  was  entitled  no  less  by  his  rank  as  Prince  Consort 
than  by  his  personal  abilities.  For  Anaitis  did  not  really 


SHORTCOMINGS  OF  PRINCE  JURGEN  171 


think  that,  as  went  natural  endowments,  her  Jurgen  had 
much  reason  to  envy  even  such  a  general  favorite  as 
Priapos,  say,  from  what  she  knew  of  both. 

So  it  was  that  Jurgen  honored  custom.  "Because 
these  beastly  nature  myths  may  be  right,"  said  Jurgen; 
"and  certainly  I  cannot  go  so  far  as  to  say  they  are 
wrong :  but  still,  at  the  same  time !" 

For  Jurgen  was  content  to  dismiss  no  riddle  with  a 
mere  "I  do  not  know."  Jurgen  was  no  more  able  to  give 
up  questioning  the  meaning  of  life  than  could  a  trout  re 
linquish  swimming :  indeed,  he  lived  submerged  in  a  flood 
of  curiosity  and  doubt,  as  his  native  element.  That  death 
ended  all  things  might  very  well  be  the  case:  yet  if  the 
outcome  proved  otherwise,  how  much  more  pleasant  it 
would  be,  for  everyone  concerned,  to  have  aforetime 
established  amicable  relations  with  the  overlords  of  his 
second  life,  by  having  done  whatever  it  was  they  ex 
pected  of  him  here. 

"Yes,  I  feel  that  something  is  expected  of  me,"  says 
Jurgen:  "and  without  knowing  what  it  is,  I  am  tolerably 
sure,  somehow,  that  it  is  not  an  indulgence  in  endless 
pleasure.  Besides,  I  do  not  think  death  is  going  to  end 
all  for  me.  If  only  I  could  be  quite  certain  my  encoun 
ter  with  King  Smoit,  and  with  that  charming  little  Sylvia 
Tereu,  was  not  a  dream !  As  it  is,  plain  reasoning  assures 
me  I  am  not  indispensable  to  the  universe :  but  with  this 
reasoning,  somehow,  does  not  travel  my  belief.  No,  it 
is  only  fair  to  my  own  interests  to  go  graveward  a  little 
more  openmindedly  than  do  these  nature  myths,  since  I 
lack  the  requisite  credulity  to  become  a  free-thinking 
materialist.  To  believe  that  we  know  nothing  assuredly, 


172  JURGEN 


and  cannot  ever  know  anything  assuredly,  is  to  take  too 
much  on  faith." 

And  Jurgen  paused  to  shake  his  sleek  black  head  two 
or  three  times,  very  sagely. 

4 'No,  I  cannot  believe  in  nothingness  being  the  destined 
end  of  all :  that  would  be  too  futile  a  climax  to  content  a 
dramatist  clever  enough  to  have  invented  Jurgen.  No,  it 
is  just  as  I  said  to  the  brown  man :  I  cannot  believe  in  the 
annihilation  of  Jurgen  by  any  really  thrifty  overlords ;  so 
I  shall  see  to  it  that  Jurgen  does  nothing  which  he  cannot 
more  or  less  plausibly  excuse,  in  case  of  supernal  in 
quiries.  That  is  far  safer." 

Now  Jurgen  was  shaking  his  head  again:  and  he 
sighed. 

"For  the  pleasures  of  Cocaigne  do  not  satisfy  me.  They 
are  all  well  enough  in  their  way ;  and  I  admit  the  truism 
that  in  seeking  bed  and  board  two  heads  are  better  than 
one.  Yes,  Anaitis  makes  me  an  excellent  wife.  Never 
theless,  her  diversions  do  not  satisfy  me,  and  gallantly  to 
make  the  most  of  life  is  not  enough.  No,  it  is  something 
else  that  I  desire :  and  Anaitis  does  not  quite  understand 
me." 


24. 

Of  Compromises  in  Cocaigne 


THUS  Jurgen  abode  for  a  little  over  two  months  in 
Cocaigne,  and  complied  with  the  customs  of  that 
country.  Nothing  altered  in  Cocaigne :  but  in  the 
world  wherein  Jurgen  was  reared,  he  knew,  it  would  by 
this  time  be  September,  with  the  leaves  flaring  gloriously, 
and  the  birds  flocking  southward,  and  the  hearts  of 
Jurgen's  fellows  turning  to  not  unpleasant  regrets.  But 
in  Cocaigne  there  was  no  regret  and  no  variability,  but 
only  an  interminable  flow  of  curious  pleasures,  illumined 
by  the  wandering  star  of  Venus  Mechanitis. 

"Why  is  it,  then,  that  I  am  not  content?"  said  Jurgen. 
"And  what  thing  is  this  which  I  desire?  It  seems  to  me 
there  is  some  injustice  being  perpetrated  upon  Jurgen, 
somewhere." 

Meanwhile  he  lived  with  Anaitis  the  Sun's  daughter 
very  much  as  he  had  lived  with  Lisa,  who  was  daughter 
to  a  pawnbroker.  Anaitis  displayed  upon  the  whole  a 
milder  temper :  in  part  because  she  could  confidently  look 
forward  to  several  centuries  more  of  life  before  being 
explained  away  by  the  Philologists,  and  so  had  less  need 
than  Dame  Lisa  to  worry  over  temporal  matters ;  and  in 
part  because  there  was  less  to  ruin  one's  disposition  in 
two  months  than  in  ten  years  of  Jurgen's  company. 
Anaitis  nagged  and  sulked  for  a  while  when  her  Prince 

173 


174  JURGEN 


Consort  slackened  in  the  pursuit  of  strange  delights,  as 
he  did  very  soon,  with  frank  confession  that  his  tastes 
were  simple  and  that  these  outlandish  refinements  bored 
him.  Later  Anaitis  seemed  to  despair  of  his  ever  becom 
ing  proficient  in  curious  pleasures,  and  she  permitted 
Jurgen  to  lead  a  comparatively  normal  life,  with  only  an 
occasional  and  half-hearted  remonstrance. 

What  puzzled  Jurgen  was  that  she  did  not  seem  to  tire 
of  him :  and  he  would  often  wonder  what  this  lovely  mytn, 
so  skilled  and  potent  in  arts  wherein  he  was  the  merest 
bungler,  could  find  to  care  for  in  Jurgen.  For  now  they 
lived  together  like  any  other  humdrum  married  couple, 
and  their  occasional  exchange  of  endearments  was  as 
much  a  matter  of  course  as  their  meals,  and  hardly  more 
exciting. 

"Poor  dear,  I  believe  it  is  simply  because  I  am  a  mon 
strous  clever  fellow.  She  distrusts  my  cleverness,  she 
very  often  disapproves  of  it,  and  yet  she  values  it  as 
queer,  as  a  sort  of  curiosity.  Well,  but  who  can  deny  that 
cleverness  is  truly  a  curiosity  in  Cocaigne?" 

So  Anaitis  petted  and  pampered  her  Prince  Consort, 
and  took  such  open  pride  in  his  queerness  as  very  nearly 
embarrassed  him  sometimes.  She  could  not  understand 
his  attitude  of  polite  amusement  toward  his  associates 
and  the  events  which  befell  him,  and  even  toward  his  own 
doings  and  traits.  Whatever  happened,  Jurgen  shrugged, 
and,  delicately  avoiding  actual  laughter,  evinced  amuse 
ment.  Anaitis  could  not  understand  this  at  all,  of  course, 
since  Asian  myths  are  remarkably  destitute  of  humor.  To 
Jurgen  in  private  she  protested  that  he  ought  to  be 
ashamed  of  his  levity :  but  none  the  less,  she  would  draw 
him  out  when  among  the  bestial  and  grim  nature  myths, 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  COCAIGNE  175 

and  she  would  glow  visibly  with  fond  pride  in  Jurgen's 
queerness. 

"She  mothers  me/*  reflected  Jurgen.  "Upon  my  word, 
I  believe  that  in  the  end  this  is  the  only  way  in  which 
females  are  capable  of  loving.  And  she  is  a  dear  and 
lovely  creature,  of  whom  I  am  sincerely  fond.  What  is 
this  thing,  then,  that  I  desire?  Why  do  I  feel  life  is  not 
treating  me  quite  justly?" 

So  the  summer  had  passed;  and  Anaitis  travelled  a 
great  deal,  being  a  popular  myth  in  every  land.  Her  sense 
of  duty  was  so  strong  that  she  endeavored  to  grace  in 
person;  all  the  peculiar  festivals  held  in  her  honor,  and 
this,  now  the  harvest  season  was  at  hand,  left  her  with 
hardly  a  moment  disengaged.  Then,  too,  the  mission  of 
Anaitis  was  to  divert;  and  there  were  so  many  people 
whom  she  had  personally  to  visit — so  many  notable  ascet 
ics  who  were  advancing  straight  toward  canonization, 
and  whom  her  underlings  were  unable  to  divert, — that 
Anaitis  was  compelled  to  pass  night  after  night  in  un- 
wholesomely  comfortless  surroundings,  in  monasteries 
and  in  the  cells  and  caves  of  hermits. 

"You  are  wearing  yourself  out,  my  darling,"  Jurgen 
would  say :  "and  does  it  not  seem,  after  all,  a  game  that 
is  hardly  worth  the  candle?  I  know  that,  for  my  part, 
before  I  would  travel  so  many  miles  into  a  desert,  and 
then  climb  a  hundred  foot  pillar,  just  to  whisper  diverting 
notions  into  an  anchorite's  very  dirty  ear,  I  would  let  the 
gaunt  rascal  go  to  Heaven.  But  you  associate  so  much 
with  saintly  persons  that  you  have  contracted  their  in 
capacity  for  seeing  the  humorous  side  of  things.  Well, 
you  are  a  dear,  even  so.  Here  is  a  kiss  for  you :  and  do 


176  JURGEN 


you  come  back  to  your  adoring  husband  as  soon  as  you 
conveniently  can  without  neglecting  your  duty." 

"They  report  that  this  Stylites  is  very  far  gone  in  recti 
tude,"  said  Anaitis,  absent-mindedly,  as  she  prepared  for 
the  journey,  "but  I  have  hopes  for  him." 

Then  Anai'tis  put  purple  powder  on  her  hair,  and  has 
tily  got  together  a  few  beguiling  devices,  and  went  into 
the  Thebaid.  Jurgen  went  back  to  the  Library,  and  the 
System  of  Worshipping  a  Girl,  and  the  unique  manu 
scripts  of  Astyanassa  and  Elephantis  and  Sotades,  and 
the  Dionysiac  Formulae,  and  the  Chart  of  Postures,  and 
the  Litany  of  the  Centre  of  Delight,  and  the  Spintrian 
Treatises,  and  the  Thirty-two  Gratifications,  and  in 
numerable  other  volumes  which  he  found  instructive. 

The  Library  was  a  vaulted  chamber,  having  its  walls 
painted  with  the  twelve  Asan  of  Cyrene  ;  the  ceiling  was 
frescoed  with  the  arched  body  of  a  woman,  whose  toes 
rested  upon  the  cornice  of  the  east  wall,  and  whose  out 
stretched  finger-tips  touched  the  cornice  of  the  western 
wall.  The  clothing  of  this  painted  woman  was  remark 
able:  and  to  Jurgen  her  face  was  not  unfamiliar. 

"Who  is  that  ?"  he  inquired,  of  Anaitis. 

Looking  a  little  troubled,  Anaitis  told  him  this  was 


"Well,  I  have  heard  her  called  otherwise  :  and  I  have 
seen  her  in  quite  other  clothing." 

"You  have  seen  .^Esred!" 

"Yes,  with  a  kitchen  towel  about  her  head,  and  other 
wise  unostentatiously  appareled  —  but  very  becomingly,  I 
can  assure  you!"  Here  Jurgen  glanced  sidewise  at  his 
shadow,  and  he  cleared  his  throat.  "Oh,  and  a  most 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  COCAIGNE  177 


charming  and  a  most  estimable  old  lady  I  found  this 
y£sred  to  be,  I  can  assure  you  also." 

"1  would  prefer  to  know  nothing  about  it,"  said  Anaitis, 
hastily,  "I  would  prefer,  for  both  our  sakes,  that  you  say 
no  more  of  ^Esred." 

Jurgen  shrugged. 

Now  in  the  Library  of  Cocaigne  was  garnered  a  record 
of  all  that  the  nature  myths  had  invented  in  the  way  of 
pleasure.  And  here,  with  no  companion  save  his  queer 
shadow,  and  with  yEsred  arched  above  and  bleakly 
regarding  him,  Jurgen  spent  most  of  his  time,  rather 
agreeably,  in  investigating  and  meditating  upon  the  more 
curious  of  these  recreations.  The  painted  Asan  were,  in 
all  conscience,  food  for  wonder :  but  over  and  above  these 
dozen  surprising  pastimes,  the  books  of  Anaitis  revealed 
to  Jurgen,  without  disguise  or  reticence,  every  other  far 
fetched  frolic  of  heathenry.  Hitherto  unheard-of  forms 
of  diversion  were  unveiled  to  him,  and  every  recreation 
which  ingenuity  had  been  able  to  contrive,  for  the  grati 
fying  of  the  most  subtle  and  the  most  strong-stomached 
tastes.  No  possible  sort  of  amusement  would  seem  to* 
have  been  omitted,  in  running  the  quaint  gamut  of  refine 
ments  upon  nature  which  Anaitis  and  her  cousins  had  at 
odd  moments  invented,  to  satiate  their  desire  for  some 
more  suave  or  more  strange  or  more  sanguinary  pleasure. 
Yet  the  deeper  Jurgen  investigated,  and  the  longer  he 
meditated,  the  more  certain  it  seemed  to  him  that  all  such 
employment  was  a  peculiarly  unimaginative  pursuit  of 
happiness. 

"I  am  willing  to  taste  any  drink  once.  So  I  must  give 
diversion  a  fair  trial.  But  I  am  afraid  these  are  the 
games  of  mental  childhood.  Well,  that  reminds  me  I 


178  JURGEN 


promised  the  children  to  play  with  them  for  a  while 
before  supper." 

So  he  came  out,  and  presently,  brave  in  the  shirt  of 
Nessus,  and  mimicked  in  every  action  by  that  incongruous 
shadow,  Prince  Jurgen  was  playing  tag  with  the  three 
little  Eumenides,  the  daughters  of  Anaitis  by  her  former 
marriage  with  Acheron,  the  King  of  Midnight. 

Anaitis  and  the  dark  potentate  had  parted  by  mutual 
consent.  "Acheron  meant  well,"  she  would  say,  with  a 
forgiving  sigh,  "and  that  in  the  Moon's  absence  he  occa 
sionally  diverted  travellers,  I  do  not  deny.  But  he  did 
not  understand  me." 

And  Jurgen  agreed  that  this  tragedy  sometimes  befell 
even  the  irreproachably  diverting. 

The  three  Eumenides  at  this  period  were  half -grown 
girls,  whom  their  mother  was  carefully  tutoring  to  drive 
guilty  persons  mad  by  the  stings  of  conscience :  and  very 
quaint  it  was  to  see  the  young  Furies  at  practise  in  the 
schoolroom,  black-robed,  and  waving  lighted  torches,  and 
crowned  each  with  her  garland  of  pet  serpents.  They 
became  attached  to  Jurgen,  who  was  always  fond  of  chil' 
dren,  and  who  had  frequently  regretted  that  .Dame  Lisa 
had  borne  him  none. 

"It  is  enough  to  get  the  poor  dear  a  name  for  eccen 
tricity,"  he  had  been  used  to  say. 

So  Jurgen  now  made  much  of  his  step-children:  and 
indeed  he  found  their  innocent  prattle  quite  as  intelligent, 
in  essentials,  as  the  talk  of  the  full-grown  nature  myths 
who  infested  the  palace  of  Anaitis.  And  the  four  of 
them — Jurgen,  and  critical  Alecto,  and  grave  Tisiphone, 
and  fairy-like  little  Megaera, — would  take  long  walks, 
and  play  with  their  dolls  (though  Alecto  was  a  trifle  con- 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  COCAIGNE  179 


descending  toward  dolls),  and  romp  together  in  the 
eternal  evening  of  Cocaigne;  and  discuss  what  sort  of 
dresses  and  trinkets  Mother  would  probably  bring  them 
when  she  came  back  from  Ecbatana  or  Lesbos,  and  would 
generally  enjoy  themselves. 

Rather  pathetically  earnest  and  unimaginative  little 
lasses,  Jurgen  found  the  young  Eumenides :  they  inherited 
much  of  their  mother's  narrow-mindedness,  if  not  their 
father's  brooding  and  gloomy  tendencies;  but  in  them 
narrow-mindedness  showed  merely  as  amusing.  And 
Jurgen  loved  them,  and  would  often  reflect  what  a  pity 
it  was  that  these  dear  little  girls  were  destined  when  they 
reached  maturity,  to  spend  the  rest  of  their  lives  in  haunt 
ing  criminals  and  adulterers  and  parricides  and,  generally, 
such  persons  as  must  inevitably  tarnish  the  girls'  outlook 
upon  life,  and  lead  them  to  see  too  much  of  the  worst 
side  of  human  nature. 

So  Jurgen  was  content  enough.  But  still  he  was  not 
actually  happy,  not  even  among  the  endless  pleasures  of 
Cocaigne. 

"And  what  is  this  thing  that  I  desire?"  he  would  ask 
himself,  again  and  again. 

And  still  he  did  not  know:  he  merely  felt  he  was  not 
getting  justice :  and  a  dim  sense  of  this  would  trouble  him 
even  while  he  was  playing  with  the  Eumenides. 


25. 

Can  traps  of  the  Master  Philologist 


BUT  now,  as  has  been  recorded,  it  was  September, 
and  Jurgen  could  see  that  Anaitis  too  was  worry 
ing  over  something.  She  kept  it  from  him  as 
long  as  possible :  first  said  it  was  nothing  at  all,  then  said 
he  would  know  it  soon  enough,  then  wept  a  little  over 
the  possibility  that  he  would  probably  be  very  glad  to 
hear  it,  and  eventually  told  him.  For  in  becoming  the 
consort  of  a  nature  myth  connected  with  the  Moon  Jur 
gen  had  of  course  exposed  himself  to  the  danger  of  being 
converted  into  a  solar  legend  by  the  Philologists,  and  in 
that  event  would  be  compelled  to  leave  Cocaigne  with 
the  Equinox,  to  enter  into  autumnal  exploits  elsewhere. 
And  Anaitis  was  quite  heart-broken  over  the  prospect  of 
losing  Jurgen. 

"For  I  have  never  had  such  a  Prince  Consort  iri 
Cocaigne,  so  maddening,  and  so  helpless,  and  so  clever; 
and  the  girls  are  so  fond  of  you,  although  they  have  not 
been  able  to  get  on  at  all  with  so  many  of  their  step 
fathers  !  And  I  know  that  you  are  flippant  and  heartless, 
but  you  have  quite  spoiled  me  for  other  men.  No, 
Jurgen,  there  is  no  need  to  argue,  for  I  have  experimented 
with  at  least  a  dozen  lovers  lately,  when  I  was  traveling, 
and  they  bored  me  insufferably.  They  had,  as  you  put  it, 
dear,  no  conversation :  and  you  are  the  only  young  man 

ISO 


CANTRAPS  OF  THE  MASTER  PHILOLOGIST      181 


I  have  found  in  all  these  ages  who  could  talk  interest 
ingly." 

"There  is  a  reason  for  that,  since  like  you,  Anaitis,  I 
am  not  so  youthful  as  I  appear." 

"I  do  not  care  a  straw  about  appearances,"  wept 
Anaitis,  "but  I  know  that  I  love  you,  and  that  you  must 
be  leaving  me  with  the  Equinox  unless  you  can  settle 
matters  with  the  Master  Philologist." 

"Well,  my  pet,"  says  Jurgen,  "the  Jews  got  into  Jericho 
by  trying." 

He  armed,  and  girded  himself  with  Caliburn,  drank  a 
couple  of  bottles  of  wine,  put  on  the  shirt  of  Nessus  over 
all,  and  then  went  to  seek  this  thaumaturgist. 

Anaitis  showed  him  the  way  to  an  unpretentious  resi 
dence,  where  a  week's  washing  was  drying  and  flapping 
in  the  side  yard.  Jurgen  knocked  boldly,  and  after  an 
interval  the  door  was  opened  by  the  Master  Philologist 
himself. 

"You  must  pardon  this  informality,"  he  said,  blinking 
through  his  great  spectacles,  which  had  dust  on  them: 
"but  time  was  by  ill  luck  arrested  hereabouts  on  a  Thurs 
day  evening,  and  so  the  maid  is  out  indefinitely.  I  would 
suggest,  therefore,  that  the  lady  wait  outside  upon  the 
porch.  For  the  neighbors  to  see  her  go  in  would  not  be 
respectable." 

"Do  you  know  what  I  have  come  for?"  says  Jurgen, 
blustering,  and  splendid  in  his  glittering  shirt  and  his 
gleaming  armor.  "For  I  warn  you  I  am  justice." 

"I  think  you  are  lying,  and  I  am  sure  you  are  making 
an  unnecessary  noise.  In  any  event,  justice  is  a  word, 
and  I  control  all  words." 


182  JURGEN 


"You  will  discover  very  soon,  sir,  that  actions  speak 
louder  than  words." 

"I  believe  that  is  so/'  said  the  Master  Philologist,  still 
blinking,  "just  as  the  Jewish  mob  spoke  louder  than  He 
Whom  they  crucified.  But  the  Word  endures." 

"You  are  a  quibbler!" 

"You  are  my  guest.  So  I  advise  you,  in  pure  friendli 
ness,  not  to  impugn  the  power  of  my  words." 

Said  Jurgen,  scornfully :  "But  is  justice,  then,  a 
word?" 

"Oh,  yes,  it  is  one  of  the  most  useful.  It  is  the 
Spanish  justicia,  the  Portuguese  justiga,  the  Italian  gius- 
tizia,  all  from  the  Latin  Justus.  Oh,  yes  indeed,  but  jus 
tice  is  one  of  my  best  connected  words,  and  one  of  the 
best  trained  also,  I  can  assure  you." 

"Aha,  and  to  what  degraded  uses  do  you  put  this  poor 
enslaved  intimidated  justice!" 

"There  is  but  one  intelligent  use,"  said  the  Master 
Philologist,  unruffled,  "for  anybody  to  make  of  words. 
I  will  explain  it  to  you,  if  you  will  come  in  out  of  this 
treacherous  draught.  One  never  knows  what  a  cold  may 
lead  to." 

Then  the  door  closed  upon  them,  and  Anaitis  waited 
outside,  in  some  trepidation. 

Presently  Jurgen  came  out  of  that  unpretentious  resi 
dence,  and  so  back  to  Anaitis,  discomfited.  Jurgen  flung 
down  his  magic  sword,  charmed  Caliburn. 

"This,  Anaitis,  I  perceive  to  be  an  outmoded  weapon. 
There  is  no  weapon  like  words,  no  armor  against  words, 
and  with  words  the  Master  Philologist  has  conquered  me. 
It  is  not  at  all  equitable :  but  the  man  showed  me  a  huge 
book  wherein  were  the  names  of  everything  in  the  world, 


CANTRAPS  OF  THE  MASTER  PHILOLOGIST      183 


and  justice  was  not  among  them.  It  develops  that,  in 
stead,  justice  is  merely  a  common  noun,  vaguely  denoting 
an  ethical  idea  of  conduct  proper  to  the  circumstances, 
whether  of  individuals  or  communities.  It  is,  you  ob 
serve,  just  a  grammarian's  notion." 

"But  what  has  he  decided  about  you,  Jurgen?" 
"Alas,  dear  Anaitis,  he  has  decided,  in  spite  of  all  that 
I  could  do,  to  derive  Jurgen  from  jargon,  indicating  a 
confused  chattering  such  as  birds  give  forth  at  sunrise: 
thus  ruthlessly  does  the  Master  Philologist  convert  me 
into  a  solar  legend.  So  the  affair  is  settled,  and  we  must 
part,  my  darling." 

Anaitis  took  up  the  sword.  "But  this  is  valuable,  since 
the  man  who  wields  it  is  the  mightiest  of  warriors." 

"It  is  a  rush,  a  rotten  twig,  a  broomstraw,  against  the 
insidious  weapons  of  the  Master  Philologist.  But  keep 
it  if  you  like,  my  dear,  and  give  it  to  your  next  Prince 
Consort.  I  am  ashamed  to  have  trifled  with  such  toys," 
says  Jurgen,  in  fretted  disgust.  "And  besides,  the  Master 
Philologist  assures  me  I  shall  mount  far  higher  through 
the  aid  of  this." 

"But  what  is  on  that  bit  of  parchment?" 
"Thirty-two  of  the  Master  Philologist's  own  words 
that  I  begged  of  him.      See,  my  dear,  he  made  this  can- 
trap  for  me  with  his  own  hand  and  ink."    And  Jurgen 
read  from  the  parchment,  impressively :    "  'At  the  death 
of  Adrian  the  Fifth,  Pedro  Juliani,  who  should  be  named 
John  the  Twentieth,  was  through  an  error  in  the  reckon 
ing  elevated  to  the  papal  chair  as  John  the  Twenty-first/  " 
Said  Anaitis,  blankly:    "And  is  that  all?" 
"Why,  yes:  and  surely  thirty-two  whole  words  should 
be  enough  for  the  most  exacting." 


184  JURGEN 


"But  is  it  magic?  are  you  certain  it  is  authentic  magic?" 

"I  have  learned  that  there  is  always  magic  in  words." 

"Now,  if  you  ask  my  opinion,  Jurgen,  your  cantrap  is 
nonsense,  and  can  never  be  of  any  earthly  use  to  anybody. 
Without  boasting,  dear,  I  have  handled  a  great  deal  of 
black  magic  in  my  day,  but  I  never  encountered  a  spell 
at  all  like  this." 

"None  the  less,  my  darling,  it  is  evidently  a  cantrap, 
for  else  the  Master  Philologist  would  never  have  given  it 
to  me." 

"But  how  are  you  to  use  it,  pray?" 

"Why,  as  need  directs,"  said  Jurgen,  and  he  put  the 
parchment  into  the  pocket  of  his  glittering  shirt.  "Yes, 
I  repeat,  there  is  always  something  to  be  done  with  words, 
and  here  are  thirty-two  authentic  words  from  the  Master 
Philologist  himself,  not  to  speak  of  three  commas  and  a 
full-stop.  Oh,  I  shall  certainly  go  far  with  this." 

"We  women  have  firmer  faith  in  the  sword,"  replied 
Anai'tis.  "At  all  events,  you  and  I  cannot  remain  upon 
this  thaumaturgist's  porch  indefinitely." 

So  Anaitis  put  up  Caliburn,  and  carried  it  from  the 
thaumaturgist's  unpretentious  residence  to  her  fine  palace 
in  the  old  twilit  wood :  and  afterward,  as  everybody 
knows,  she  gave  this  sword  to  King  Arthur,  who  with 
its  aid  rose  to  be  hailed  as  one  of  the  Nine  Worthies  of 
the  World.  So  did  the  husband  of  Guenevere  win  for 
himself  eternal  fame  with  that  which  Jurgen  flung  away. 


26. 

In  Time's  Hour-Glass 


^T  T  TELL,  well  \"  said  Jurgen,  when  he  had  taken 
\/  V/  off  all  that  foolish  ironmongery,  and  had 
made  himself  comfortable  in  his  shirt; 
"well,  beyond  doubt,  the  situation  is  awkward.  I  was 
content  enough  in  Cocaigne,  and  it  is  unfair  that  I  should 
be  thus  ousted.  Still,  a  sensible  person  will  manage  to  be 
content  anywhere.  But  whither,  pray,  am  I  expected 
to  go?" 

"Into  whatever  land  you  may  elect,  my  dear,"  said 
Anaitis,  fondly.  "That  much  at  least  I  can  manage  for 
you :  and  the  interpretation  of  your  legend  can  be 
arranged  afterward." 

"But  I  grow  tired  of  all  the  countries  I  have  ever  seen, 
dear  Anaitis,  and  in  my  time  I  have  visited  nearly  all 
the  lands  that  are  known  to  men." 

"That  too  can  be  arranged:  and  you  can  go  instead 
into  one  of  the  countries  which  are  desired  by  men. 
Indeed  there  are  a  number  of  such  realms  which  no  man 
has  ever  visited  except  in  dreams,  so  that  your  choice 
is  wide." 

"But  how  am  I  to  make  a  choice  without  having  seen 
any  of  these  countries?  It  is  not  fair  to  be  expecting  me 
to  do  anything  of  the  sort." 

"Why,  I  will  show  them  to  you,"  Anaitis  replied. 

1R3 


186  JURGEN 


The  two  of  them  then  went  together  into  a  small  blue 
chamber,  the  walls  of  which  were  ornamented  with  gold 
stars  placed  helter-skelter.  The  room  was  entirely  empty 
save  for  an  hour-glass  near  twice  the  height  of  a  man. 

"It  is  Time's  own  glass,"  said  Anaitis,  "which  was 
left  in  my  keeping  when  Time  went  to  sleep." 

Anaitis  opened  a  little  door  of  carved  crystal  that  was 
in  the  lower  half  of  the  hour-glass,  just  above  the  fallen 
sands.  With  her  finger-tips  she  touched  the  sand  that  was 
in  Time's  hour-glass,  and  in  the  sand  she  drew  a  triangle 
with  equal  sides,  she  who  was  strangely  gifted  and  per 
verse.  Then  she  drew  just  such  another  figure  so  that 
the  tip  of  it  penetrated  the  first  triangle.  The  sand  began 
to  smoulder  there,  and  vapors  rose  into  the  upper  part  of 
the  hour-glass,  and  Jurgen  saw  that  all  the  sand  in  Time's 
hour-glass  was  kindled  by  a  magic  generated  by  the  con 
tact  of  these  two  triangles.  And  in  the  vapors  a  picture 
formed. 

"I  see  a  land  of  woods  and  rivers,  Anaitis.  A  very  old 
fellow,  regally  crowned,  lies  asleep  under  an  ash-tree, 
guarded  by  a  watchman  who  has  more  arms  and  hands 
than  Jigsbyed." 

"It  is  Atlantis  you  behold,  and  the  sleeping  of  ancient 
Time — Time,  to  whom  this  glass  belongs, — while  Briareus 
watches." 

"Time  sleeps  quite  naked,  Anaitis,  and,  though  it  is  a 
delicate  matter  to  talk  about,  I  notice  he  has  met  with  a 
deplorable  accident." 

"So  that  Time  begets  nothing  any  more,  Jurgen,  the 
while  he  brings  about  old  happenings  over  and  over,  and 
changes  the  name  of  what  is  ancient,  in  order  to  persuade 
himself  he  has  a  new  plaything.  There  is  really  no  more 


IN  TIME'S  HOUR-GLASS  187 


tedious  and  wearing  old  dotard  anywhere,  I  can  assure 
you.  But  Atlantis  is  only  the  western  province  of  Co- 
caigne.  Now  do  you  look  again,  Jurgen !" 

"Now  I  behold  a  flowering  plain  and  three  steep  hills, 
with  a  castle  upon  each  hill.  There  are  woods  wherein  the 
foliage  is  crimson:  shining  birds  with  white  bodies  and 
purple  heads  feed  upon  the  clusters  of  golden  berries  that 
grow  everywhere:  and  people  go  about  in  green  clothes, 
with  gold  chains  about  their  necks,  and  with  broad  bands 
of  gold  upon  their  arms,  and  all  these  people  have  un 
troubled  faces." 

"That  is  Inislocha :  and  to  the  south  is  Inis  Daleb,  and 
to  the  north  Inis  Ercandra.  And  there  is  sweet  music  to 
be  listening  to  eternally,  could  we  but  hear  the  birds  of 
Rhiannon,  and  there  is  the  best  of  wine  to  drinl:,  and 
there  delight  is  common.  For  thither  comes  nothing  hard 
nor  rough,  and  no  grief,  nor  any  regret,  nor  sickness,  nor 
age,  nor  death,  for  this  is  the  Land  of  Women,  a  land  of 
many-colored  hospitality." 

"Why,  then,  it  is  no  different  from  Cocaigne.  And  into 
no  realm  where  pleasure  is  endless  will  I  ever  venture 
again  of  my  own  free  will,  for  I  find  that  I  do  not  enjoy 
pleasure." 

Then  Anaitis  showed  him  Ogygia,  and  Trypheme,  and 
Sudarsana,  and  the  Fortunate  Islands,  and  yEaea,  and 
Caer-Is,  and  Invallis,  and  the  Hesperides,  and  Meropis, 
and  Planasia,  and  Uttarra,  and  Avalon,  and  Tir-nam-Beo, 
and  Theleme,  and  a  number  of  other  lands  to  enter  which 
men  have  desired:  and  Jurgen  groaned. 

"I  am  ashamed  of  my  fellows,"  says  he :  "for  it 
appears  their  notion  of  felicity  is  to  dwell  eternally  in  a 
glorified  brothel.  I  do  not  think  that  as  a  self-respecting 


188  JURGEN 


young  Prince  I  would  care  to  inhabit  any  of  these  earthly 
paradises,  for  were  there  nothing  else,  I  would  always  be 
looking  for  an  invasion  by  the  police." 

'There  remains,  then,  but  one  other  realm,  which  I 
have  not  shown  you,  in  part  because  it  is  an  obscure  little 
place,  and  in  part  because,  for  a  reason  that  I  have,  I 
shall  not  assist  you  to  go  thither.  Still,  there  is  Leuke, 
where  Queen  Helen  rules:  and  Leuke  it  is  that  you 
behold." 

"But  Leuke  seems  like  any  other  country  in  autumn, 
and  appears  to  be  reasonably  free  from  the  fantastic 
animals  and  overgrown  flowers  which  made  the  other 
paradises  look  childish.  Come  now,  there  is  an  attractive 
simplicity  about  Leuke.  I  might  put  up  with  Leuke  if 
the  local  by-laws  allowed  me  a  rational  amount  of  dis 
comfort." 

"Discomfort  you  would  have  full  measure.  For  the 
heart  of  no  man  remains  untroubled  after  he  has  once 
viewed  Queen  Helen  and  the  beauty  that  is  hers.  It  is 
for  that  reason,  Jurgen,  I  shall  not  help  you  to  go  into 
Leuke:  for  in  Leuke  you  would  forget  me,  having  seen 
Queen  Helen." 

"Why,  what  nonsense  you  are  talking,  my  darling!  I 
will  wager  she  cannot  hold  a  candle  to  you." 

"See  for  yourself !"  said  Anaitis,  sadly. 

Now  through  the  rolling  vapors  came  confusedly  a 
gleaming  and  a  surging  glitter  of  all  the  loveliest  colors 
of  heaven  and  earth :  and  these  took  order  presently,  and 
Jurgen  saw  before  him  in  the  hour-glass  that  young 
Dorothy  who  was  not  Heitman  Michael's  wife.  And  Ions: 
and  wistfully  he  looked  at  her,  and  the  blinding  tears 


IN  TIME'S  HOUR-GLASS  189 


came  to  his  eyes  for  no  reason  at  all,  and  for  the  while 
he  could  not  speak. 

Then  Jurgen  yawned,  and  said,  "But  certainly  this  is 
not  the  Helen  who  was  famed  for  beauty." 

"I  can  assure  you  that  it  is,"  said  Anaitis :  "and  that 
it  is  she  who  rules  in  Leuke,  whither  I  do  not  intend  you 
shall  go." 

"Why,  but,  my  darling !  this  is  preposterous.  The  girl 
is  nothing  to  look  at  twice,  one  way  or  the  other.  She  is 
not  actually  ugly,  I  suppose,  if  one  happens  to  admire 
that  washed-out  blonde  type,  as  of  course  some  people  do. 
But  to  call  her  beautiful  is  out  of  reason ;  and  that  I 
must  protest  in  simple  justice." 

"Do  you  really  think  so?"     says  Anaitis,  brightening. 

"I  most  assuredly  do.  Why,  you  remember  what  Cal- 
purnius  Bassus  says  about  all  blondes  ?" 

"No,  I  believe  not.    What  did  he  say,  dear?" 

"I  would  only  spoil  the  splendid  passage  by  quoting  it 
inaccurately  from  memory.  But  he  was  quite  right,  and 
his  opinion  is  mine  in  every  particular.  So  if  that  is  the 
best  Leuke  can  offer,  I  heartily  agree  with  you  I  had  best 
go  into  some  other  country." 

"I  suppose  you  already  have  your  eyes  upon  some  minx 
or  other?" 

"Well,  my  love,  those  girls  in  the  Hesperides  were 
strikingly  like  you,  with  even  more  wonderful  hair  than 
yours :  and  the  girl  Aille  whom  we  saw  in  Tir-nam-Beo 
likewise  resembled  you  remarkably,  except  that  I  thought 
she  had  the  better  figure.  So  I  believe  in  either  of  those 
countries  I  could  be  content  enough,  after  a  while.  Since 
part  from  you. I  must,"  said  Jurgen,  tenderly,  "I  intend,  in 
common  fairness  to  myself,  to  find  a  companion  as  like 


190  JURGEN 


you  as  possible.  You  conceive  I  can  pretend  it  is  you 
at  first:  and  then  as  I  grow  fonder  of  her  for  her  own 
sake,  you  will  gradually  be  put  out  of  my  mind  without 
my  incurring  any  intolerable  anguish." 

Anaitis  was  not  pleased.  "So  you  are  already  hanker 
ing  after  those  huzzies!  And  you  think  them  better 
looking  than  I  am !  And  you  tell  me  so  to  my  face !" 

"My  darling,  you  cannot  deny  we  have  been  married 
all  of  three  whole  months:  and  nobody  can  maintain  an 
infatuation  for  any  woman  that  long,  in  the  teeth  of 
having  nothing  refused  him.  Infatuation  is  largely  d. 
matter  of  curiosity,  and  both  of  these  emotions  die  when 
they  are  fed." 

"Jurgen,"  said  Anaitis,  with  conviction,  "you  are  lying 
to  me  about  something.  I  can  see  it  in  your  eyes." 

"There  is  no  deceiving  a  woman's  intuition.  Yes,  I  was 
not  speaking  quite  honestly  when  I  pretended  I  had  as 
lief  go  into  the  Hesperides  as  to  Tir-nam-Beo :  it  was 
wrong  of  me,  and  I  ask  your  pardon.  I  thought  that  by 
affecting  indifference  I  could  manage  you  better.  But 
you  saw  through  me  at  once,  and  very  rightly  became 
angry.  So  I  fling  my  cards  upon  the  table,  I  no  longer 
beat  about  the  bushes  of  equivocation.  It  is  Aille,  the 
daughter  of  Cormac,  whom  I  love,  and  who  can  blame 
me?  Did  you  ever  in  your  life  behold  a  more  enticing 
figure,  Anaitis? — certainly  I  never  did.  Besides,  I  noticed 
— but  never  mind  about  that!  Still  I  could  not  help 
seeing  them.  And  then  such  eyes!  twin  beacons  that 
light  my  way  to  comfort  for  my  not  inconsiderable  regret 
at  losing  you,  my  darling.  Oh,  yes,  assuredly  it  is  to 
Tir-nam-Beo  I  elect  to  go." 

"Whither  you  go,  my  fine  fellow,  is  a  matter  in  which 


IN  TIME'S  HOUR-GLASS  191 


I  have  the  choice,  not  you.    And  you  are  going  to  Leuke." 

"My  love,  now  do  be  reasonable !  We  both  agreed  thaf 
Leuke  was  not  a  bit  suitable.  Why,  were  there  nothing 
else,  in  Leuke  there  are  no  attractive  women." 

"Have  you  no  sense  except  book-sense !  It  is  for  that 
reason  I  am  sending  you  to  Leuke/' 

And  thus  speaking,  Anaitis  set  about  a  strong  magic 
that  hastened  the  coming  of  the  Equinox.  In  the  midsf 
of  her  charming  she  wept  a  little,  for  she  was  fond  of 
Jurgen. 

And  Jurgen  preserved  a  hurt  and  angry  face  as  well  as 
he  could:  for  at  the  sight  of  Queen  Helen,  who  was  so 
like  young  Dorothy  la  Desiree,  he  had  ceased  to  care  for 
Queen  Anaitis  and  her  diverting  ways,  or  to  care  for 
aught  else  in  the  world  save  only  Queen  Helen,  the 
delight  of  gods  and  men.  But  Jurgen  had  learned  that 
Anaitis  required  management. 

"For  her  own  good,"  as  he  put  it,  "and  in  simple 
justice  to  the  many  admirable  qualities  which  she 
possesses." 


27. 

Vexatious  Estate  of  Queen  Helen 


UT  how  can  I  travel  with  the  Equinox,  with  a 
fictitious  thing,  with  a  mere  convention?" 
Jurgen  had  said.  "To  demand  any  such  pro 
ceeding  of  me  is  preposterous." 

"Is  it  any  more  preposterous  than  to  travel  with  an 
imaginary  creature  like  a  centaur?"  they  had  retorted. 
"Why,  Prince  Jurgen,  we  wonder  how  you,  who  have 
done  that  perfectly  unheard-of  thing,  can  have  the  effron 
tery  to  call  anything  else  preposterous !  Is  there  no 
reason  at  all  in  you?  Why,  conventions  are  respectable, 
and  that  is  a  deal  more  than  can  be  said  for  a  great  many 
centaurs.  Would  you  be  throwing  stones  at  respecta 
bility,  Prince  Jurgen?  Why,  we  are  unutterably  as 
tounded  at  your  objection  to  any  such  well-known  phen 
omenon  as  the  Equinox!"  And  so  on,  and  so  on,  and 
so  on,  said  they. 

And  in  fine,  they  kept  at  him  until  Jurgen  was  too 
confused  to  argue,  and  his  head  was  in  a  whirl,  and  one 
thing  seemed  as  preposterous  as  another :  and  he  ceased  to 
notice  any  especial  improbability  in  his  traveling  with  the 
Equinox,  and  so  passed  without  any  further  protest  or 
argument  about  it,  from  Cocaigne  to  Leuke.  But  lie 
would  not  have  been  thus  readily  flustered  had  Jurgen 

192 


VEXATIOUS  ESTATE  OF  QUEEN  HELEN         193 


not  beeri  thinking  all  the  while  of  Queen  Helen  and  oi 
the  beauty  that  was  hers. 

So  he  inquired  forthwith  the  way  that  one  might  quick- 
liest  come  into  the  presence  of  Queen  Helen. 

"Why,  you  will  find  Queen  Helen,"  he  was  told,  "in 
her  palace  at  Pseudopolis."  His  informant  was  a  hama 
dryad,  whom  Jurgen  encountered  upon  the  outskirts  of  a 
forest  overlooking  the  city  from  the  west.  Beyond  broad 
sloping  stretches  of  ripe  corn,  you  saw  Pseudopolis  as  a 
city  builded  of  gold  and  ivory,  now  all  a  dazzling  glitter 
under  a  hard-seeming  sky  that  appeared  unusually  remote 
from  earth. 

"And  is  the  Queen  as  fair  as  people  report?"  asks 
Jurgen. 

"Men  say  that  she  excels  all  other  women,"  replied  the 
Hamadryad,  "as  immeasurably  as  all  we  women  perceive 
her  husband  to  surpass  all  other  men — " 

"But,  oh,  dear  me !"  says  Jurgen. 

" — Although,  for  one,  I  see  nothing  remarkable  in 
Queen  Helen's  looks.  And  I  cannot  but  think  that  a 
woman  who  has  been  so  much  talked  about  ought  to  be 
more  careful  in  the  way  she  dresses." 

"So  this  Queen  Helen  is  already  provided  with  a 
husband!"  Jurgen  was  displeased,  but  saw  no  reason 
for  despair.  Then  Jurgen  inquired  as  to  the  Queen's 
husband,  and  learned  that  Achilles,  the  son  of  Peleus, 
was  now  wedded  to  Helen,  the  Swan's  daughter,  and  that 
these  two  ruled  in  Pseudopolis. 

"For  they  report,"  said  the  Hamadryad,  "that  in  Ades' 
dreary  kingdom  Achilles  remembered  her  beauty,  and  by 
this  memory  was  heartened  to  break  the  bonds  of  Ades : 
so  did  Achilles,  King  of  Men,  and  all  his  ancient  com- 


194  JURGEN 


rades  come  forth  resistlessly  upon  a  second  quest  of  this 
Helen,  whom  people  call — and  as  I  think,  with  consider 
able  exaggeration — the  wonder  of  this  world.  Then  the 
Gods  fulfilled  the  desire  of  Achilles,  because,  they  said, 
the  man  who  has  once  beheld  Queen  Helen  will  never 
any  more  regain  contentment  so  long  as  his  life  lacks  this 
wonder  of  the  world.  Personally,  I  would  dislike  to  think 
that  all  men  are  so  foolish/' 

"Men  are  not  always  rational,  I  grant  you:  but  then," 
says  Jurgen,  slyly,  "so  many  of  their  ancestresses  are 
feminine." 

"But  an  ancestress  is  always  feminine.  Nobody  ever 
heard  of  a  man  being  an  ancestress.  Men  are  ancestors. 
Why,  whatever  are  you  talking  about?" 

"Well,  we  were  speaking,  I  believe,  of  Queen  Helen's 
marriage." 

"To  be  sure  we  were!  And  I  was  telling  you  abouf 
the  Gods,  when  you  made  that  droll  mistake  about  an 
cestors.  Everybody  makes  mistakes  sometimes,  how 
ever,  and  foreigners  are  always  apt  to  get  words  confused. 
I  could  see  at  once  you  were  a  foreigner — " 

"Yes,"  said  Jurgen,  "but  you  were  not  telling  me  about 
myself  but  about  the  Gods." 

"Why,  you  must  know  the  aging  Gods  desired  tran 
quillity.  So  we  will  give  her  to  Achilles,  they  said;  and 
then,  it  may  be,  this  King  of  Men  will  retain  her  so 
safely  that  his  littler  fellows  will  despair,  and  will  cease 
to  war  for  Helen:  and  so  we  shall  not  be  bothered  any 
longer  by  their  wars  and  other  foolishnesses.  For  this 
reason  it  was  that  the  Gods  gave  Helen  to  Achilles,  and 
sent  the  pair  to  reign  in  Leuke:  though,  for  my  part," 
concluded  the  Hamadryad,  "I  shall  never  cease  to  wonder 


VEXATIOUS  ESTATE  OF  QUEEN  HELEN          195 


what  he  saw  in  her — no,  not  if  I  live  to  be  a  thousand." 
"I  must,"  says  Jurgen,  "observe  this  monarch  Achilles 
before  the  world  is  a  day  older.  A  king  is  all  very  well, 
of  course,  but  no  husband  wears  a  crown  so  as  to  pre 
vent  the  affixion  of  other  head-gear." 

And  Jurgen  went  down  into  Pseudopolis,  swaggering. 
*     *     * 

So  in  the  evening,  just  after  sunset,  Jurgen  returned 
to  the  Hamadryad:  he  walked  now  with  the  aid  of  the 
ashen  staff  which  Thersites  had  given  Jurgen,  and  Jurgen 
was  mirthless  and  rather  humble. 

"I  have  observed  your  King  Achilles,"  Jurgen  says, 
"and  he  is  a  better  man  than  I.  Queen  Helen,  as  I  con 
fess  with  regret,  is  worthily  mated." 

"And  what  have  you  to  say  about  her?"  inquires  the 
Hamadryad. 

"Why,  there  is  nothing  more  to  say  than  that  she  is 
worthily  mated,  and  fit  to  be  the  wife  of  Achilles."  For 
once,  poor  Jurgen  was  really  miserable.  "For  I  admire 
this  man  Achilles,  I  envy  him,  and  I  fear  him,"  says 
Jurgen:  "  and  it  is  not  fair  that  he  should  have  been 
created  my  superior." 

"But  is  not  Queen  Helen  the  loveliest  of  ladies  that 
you  have  ever  seen  ?" 

"As  to  that— !"  says  Jurgen.  He  led  the  Hamadryad 
to  a  forest  pool  hard-by  the  oak-tree  in  which  she  resided. 
The  dusky  water  lay  unruffled,  a  natural  mirror.  "Look !" 
said  Jurgen,  and  he  spoke  with  a  downward  waving  of 
his  staff. 

The  silence  gathering  in  the  woods  was  wonderful. 
Here  the  air  was  sweet  and  pure:  and  the  little  wind 
which  went  about  the  ilex  boughs  in  search  of  night  was 


196  JURGEN 


a  tender  and  peaceful  wind,  because  it  knew  that  the  all- 
healing  night  was  close  at  hand. 

The  Hamadryad  replied,  "But  I  see  only  my  own  face." 

"It  is  the  answer  to  your  question,  none  the  less.  Now 
do  you  tell  me  your  name,  my  dear,  so  that  I  may  know 
who  in  reality  is  the  loveliest  of  all  the  ladies  I  have  evef 
seen." 

The  Hamadryad  told  him  that  her  name  was  Chloris. 
and  that  she  always  looked  a  fright  with  her  hair 
arranged  as  it  was  to-day,  and  that  he  was  a  strangely 
impudent  fellow.  So  he  in  turn  confessed  to  her  he  was 
King  Jurgen  of  Eubonia,  drawn  from  his  remote  king 
dom  by  exaggerated  reports  as  to  the  beauty  of  Queen 
Helen.  Chloris  agreed  with  him  that  rumor  was  in  such 
matters  invariably  untrustworthy. 

This  led  to  further  talk  as  twilight  deepened:  and  the 
while  that  a  little  by  a  little  this  pretty  girl  was  con 
verted  into  a  warm  breathing  shadow,  hardly  visible  to 
the  eye,  the  shadow  of  Jurgen  departed  from  him,  and  he 
began  to  talk  better  and  better.  He  had  seen  Queen 
Helen  face  to  face,  and  other  women  now  seemed  un 
important.  Whether  or  not  he  got  into  the  graces  of  this 
Hamadryad  did  not  greatly  matter,  one  way  or  the  other : 
and  in  consequence  Jurgen  talked  with  such  fluency,  such 
apposite  remarks  and  such  tenderness  as  astounded  him. 

So  he  sat  listening  with  delight  to  the  seductive  tongue 
of  that  monstrous  clever  fellow,  Jurgen.  For  this  plump 
brown-haired  bright-eyed  little  creature,  this  Chloris,  he 
was  honestly  sorry.  Into  the  uneventful  life  of  a  hama 
dryad,  here  in  this  uncultured  forest,  could  not  possibly 
have  entered  much  pleasurable  excitement,  and  it  seemed 


VEXATIOUS  ESTATE  OF  QUEEN  HELEN         197 


only  right  to  inject  a  little.  "Why,  simply  in  justice  to 
her!"  Jurgen  reflected.  "I  must  deal  fairly." 

Now  it  grew  darker  and  darker  under  the  trees,  and 
in  the  dark  nobody  can  see  what  happens.  There  were 
only  two  voices  that  talked,  with  lengthy  pauses:  and 
they  spoke  gravely  of  unimportant  trifles,  like  children 
at  play  together. 

"And  how  does  a  king  come  thus  to  be  traveling  with 
out  any  retinue  or  even  a  sword  about  him?" 

"Why,  I  travel  with  a  staff,  my  dear,  as  you  perceive : 
and  it  suffices  me." 

"Certainly  it  is  large  enough,  in  all  conscience.  Alas, 
young  outlander,  who  call  yourself  a  king !  you  carry  the 
bludgeon  of  a  highwayman,  and  I  am  afraid  of  it." 

"My  staff  is  a  twig  from  Yggdrasill,  the  tree  of  uni 
versal  life :  Thersites  gave  it  me,  and  the  sap  that  throbs 
therein  arises  from  the  Undar  fountain,  where  the  grave 
Norns  make  laws  for  men  and  fix  their  destinies." 

"Thersites  is  a  scoffer,  and  his  gifts  are  mockery.  I 
would  have  none  of  them." 

The  two  began  to  wrangle,  not  at  all  angrily,  as  to  what 
Jurgen  had  best  do  with  his  prized  staff.  "Do  you  take 
it  away  from  me,  at  any  rate !"  says  Chloris.  So  Jurgen 
hid  his  staff  where  Chloris  could  not  possibly  see  it ;  and 
he  drew  the  Hamadryad  close  to  him,  and  he  laughed 
contentedly. 

"Oh,  oh!  O  wretched  King,"  cried  Chloris,  "I  fear  that 
you  will  be  the  death  of  me !  And  you  have  no  right  to 
oppress  me  in  this  way,  for  I  am  not  your  subject." 

"Rather  shall  you  be  my  queen,  dear  Chloris,  receiving 
all  that  I  most  prize." 

"But  you  are  too  domineering:  and  I  am  afraid  to  be 


198  JURGEN 


alone  with  you  and  your  big  staff!  Ah!  not  without 
knowing  what  she  talked  about  did  my  mother  use  to 
quote  her  ^olic  saying,  The  king  is  cruel  and  takes  joy  in 
bloodshed!" 

"Presently  you  will  not  be  afraid  of  me,  nor  will  you 
be  afraid  of  my  staff.  Custom  is  all.  For  this  likewise 
is  an  ^Eolic  saying,  The  taste  of  the  first  olive  is  un 
pleasant,  but  the  second  is  good." 

Now  for  a  while  was  silence  save  for  the  small  secretive 
rumors  of  the  forest.  One  of  the  large  green  locusts 
which  frequent  the  Island  of  Leuke  began  shrilling  tenta 
tively. 

"Wait  now,  King  Jurgen,  for  surely  I  hear  footsteps, 
and  one  comes  to  trouble  us." 

"It  is  a  wind  in  the  tree-tops:  or  perhaps  it  is  a  god 
who  envies  me.  I  pause  for  neither." 

"Ah,  but  speak  reverently  of  the  Gods!  For  is  not 
Love  a  god,  and  a  jealous  god  that  has  wings  with  which 
to  leave  us?" 

"Then  am  I  a  god,  for  in  my  heart  is  love,  and  in 
every  fibre  of  me  is  love,  and  from  me  now  love 
emanates." 

"But  certainly  I  heard  somebody  approaching  through 
*he  forest—" 

"Well,  and  do  you  not  perceive  I  have  withdrawn  my 
staff  from  its  hiding-place?" 

"Ah,  you  have  great  faith  in  that  staff  of  yours !" 

"I  fear  nobody  when  I  brandish  it." 

Another  locust  had  answered  the  first  one.  Now  the 
two  insects  were  in  full  dispute,  suffusing  the  warm 
darkness  with  their  pertinacious  whirrings. 


VEXATIOUS  ESTATE  OF  QUEEN  HELEN         199 


"King  of  Eubonia,  it  is  certainly  true,  that  which  you 
told  me  about  olives." 

"Yes,  for  always  love  begets  truthfulness." 

"I  pray  it  may  beget  between  us  utter  truthfulness, 
and  nothing  else,  King  Jurgen." 

"Not  'Jurgen'  now,  but  'love'." 

"Indeed,  they  tell  that  even  so,  in  such  deep  darkness, 
Love  came  to  his  sweetheart  Psyche." 

"Then  why  do  you  complain  because  I  piously  emulate 
the  Gods,  and  offer  unto  Love  the  sincerest  form  of 
flattery  ?"  And  Jurgen  shook  his  staff  at  her. 

"Ah,  but  you  are  strangely  ready  with  your  flattery! 
and  Love  threatened  Psyche  with  no  such  enormous 
staff." 

"That  is  possible :  for  I  am  Jurgen.  And  I  deal  fairly 
with  all  women,  and  raise  my  staff  against  none  save  iri 
the  way  of  kindness." 

So  they  talked  nonsense,  in  utter  darkness,  while  the 
locusts,  and  presently  a  score  of  locusts,  disputed  obstin 
ately.  Now  Chloris  and  Jurgen  were  invisible,  even  to 
each  other,  as  they  talked  under  her  oak-tree :  but  before 
them  the  fields  shone  mistily  under  a  gold-dusted  dome, 
for  this  night  seemed  builded  of  stars.  And  the  white 
towers  of  Pseudopolis  also  could  Jurgen  see,  as  he 
laughed  there  and  took  his  pleasure  with  Chloris.  He 
reflected  that  very  probably  Achilles  and  Helen  were 
laughing  thus,  and  were  not  dissimilarly  occupied,  out 
yonder,  in  this  night  of  wonder. 

He  sighed.  But  in  a  while  Jurgen  and  the  Hamadryad 
were  speaking  again,  just  as  inconsequently,  and  the 
locusts  were  whirring  just  as  obstinately.  Later  the  moon 
rose,  and  they  all  slept. 


200  JURGEN 


With  the  dawn  Jurgen  arose,  and  left  this  Hama 
dryad  Chloris  still  asleep.  He  stood  where  he 
overlooked  the  city,  and  the  shirt  of  Nessus 
glittered  in  the  level  sun  rays:  and  Jurgen  thought 
of  Queen  Helen.  Then  he  sighed,  and  went  back  to 
Chloris,  and  wakened  her  with  the  sort  of  salutation  that 
appeared  her  just  due. 


28. 

Of  Compromises  in  Leuke 


NOW  the  tale  tells  that  ten  days  later  Jurgen  and 
his  Hamadryad  were  duly  married,  in  consonance 
with  the  law  of  the  Wood:  not  for  a  moment 
did  Chloris  consider  any  violation  of  the  proprieties,  so 
they  were  married  the  first  evening  she  could  assemble 
her  kindred. 

"Still,  Chloris,  I  already  have  two  wives,"  says  Jurgen, 
"and  it  is  but  fair  to  confess  it." 

"I  thought  it  was  only  yesterday  you  arrived  in  Leuke." 

"That  is  true:  for  I  came  with  the  Equinox,  over  the 
long  sea." 

"Then  Jugatinus  has  not  had  time  to  marry  you  to 
anybody,  and  certainly  he  would  never  think  of  marry 
ing  you  to  two  wives.  Why  do  you  talk  such  nonsense?" 

"No,  it  is  true,  I  was  not  married  by  Jugatinus." 

"So  there!"  says  Chloris,  as  if  that  settled  matters. 
"Now  you  see  for  yourself." 

"Why,  yes,  to  be  sure,"  says  Jurgen,  "that  does  put 
rather  a  different  light  upon  it,  now  I  think  of  it." 

"It  makes  all  the  difference  in  the  world." 

"I  would  hardly  go  that  far.  Still,  I  perceive  it  makes 
a  difference." 

"Why,  you  talk  as  if  everybody  did  not  know  that  Juga 
tinus  marries  people !" 

201 


202  JURGEN 


"No,  dear,  let  us  be  fair !  I  did  not  say  precisely  that." 

" — And  as  if  everybody  was  not  always  married  by 
Jugatinus !" 

"Yes,  here  in  Leuke,  perhaps.  But  outside  of  Leuke, 
you  understand,  my  darling!" 

"But  nobody  goes  outside  of  Leuke.  Nobody  ever 
thinks  of  leaving  Leuke.  I  never  heard  such  nonsense." 

"You  mean,  nobody  ever  leaves  this  island?" 

"Nobody  that  you  ever  hear  of.  Of  course,  there  are 
Lares  and  Penates,  with  no  social  position,  that  the  kings 
of  Pseudopolis  sometimes  take  a-voyaging — " 

"Still,  the  people  of  other  countries  do  get  married." 

"No,  Jurgen,"  said  Chloris,  sadly,  "it  is  a  rule  with 
Jugatinus  never  to  leave  the  island ;  and  indeed  I  am  su-re 
he  has  never  even  considered  such  unheard-of  conduct: 
so,  of  course,  the  people  of  other  countries  are  not  able 
to  get  married." 

"Well,  but,  Chloris,  in  Eubonia — " 

"Now  if  you  do  not  mind,  dear,  I  think  we  had  better 
talk  about  something  more  pleasant.  I  do  not  blame  you 
men  of  Eubonia,  because  all  men  are  in  such  matters 
perfectly  irresponsible.  And  perhaps  it  is  not  altogether 
the  fault  of  the  women,  either,  though  I  do  think  any 
really  self-respecting  woman  would  have  the  strength  of 
character  to  keep  out  of  such  irregular  relations,  and  that 
much  I  am  compelled  to  say.  So  do  not  let  us  talk  any 
more  about  these  persons  whom  you  describe  as  your 
wives.  It  is  very  nice  of  you,  dear,  to  call  them  that, 
and  I  appreciate  your  delicacy.  Still,  I  really  do  believe 
we  had  better  talk  about  something  else." 

Jurgen  deliberated.  "Yet  do  you  not  think,  Chloris,  that 
in  the  absence  of  Jugatinus — and  in,  as  I  understand  it, 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  LEUKE  203 


the  unavoidable  absence  of  Jugatinus, — somebody  else 
might  perform  the  ceremony?'* 

uOh,  yes,  if  they  wanted  to.  But  it  would  not  count. 
Nobody  but  Jugatinus  can  really  marry  people.  And  so 
of  course  nobody  else  does." 

'What  makes  you  sure  of  that  ?" 

"Why,  because,"  said  Chloris,  triumphantly,  "nobody 
ever  heard  of  such  a  thing." 

"You  have  voiced,"  said  Jurgen,  "an  entire  code  of 
philosophy.  Let  us  by  all  means  go  to  Jugatinus  and  be 
married." 

So  they  were  married  by  Jugatinus,  according  to  the 
ceremony  with  which  the  People  of  the  Wood  were 
always  married  by  Jugatinus.  First  Virgo  loosed  the 
girdle  of  Chloris  in  such  fashion  as  was  customary ;  anc! 
Chloris,  after  sitting  much  longer  than  Jurgen  liked  in 
the  lap  of  Mutinus  (who  was  in  the  state  that  custom 
required  of  him)  was  led  back  to  Jurgen  by  Domiducus 
in  accordance  with  immemorial  custom ;  Subigo  did  her 
customary  part;  then  Praema  grasped  the  bride's  plump 
arms :  and  everything  was  perfectly  regular. 

Thereafter  Jurgen  disposed  of  his  staff  in  the  way 
Thersites  had  directed:  and  thereafter  Jurgen  abode  with 
Chloris  upon  the  outskirts  of  the  forest,  and  complied 
with  the  customs  of  Leuke.  Her  tree  was  a  rather  large 
oak,  for  Chloris  was  now  in  her  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
sixth  year;  and  at  first  its  commodious  trunk  sheltered 
them.  But  later  Jurgen  builded  himself  a  little  cabin 
thatched  with  birds'  wings,  and  made  himself  more  com 
fortable. 

"It  is  well  enough  for  you,  my  dear,  in  fact  it  is  ex 
pected  of  you,  to  live  in  a  tree-bole.  But  it  makes  me  feel 


204  JURGEN 


uncomfortably  like  a  worm,  and  it  needlessly  emphasizes 
the  restrictions  of  married  life.  Besides,  you  do  not  want 
me  under  your  feet  all  the  time,  nor  I  you.  No,  let  us 
cultivate  a  judicious  abstention  from  familiarity :  such  is 
one  secret  of  an  enduring,  because  endurable,  marriage. 
But  why  is  it,  pray,  that  you  have  never  married  before, 
in  all  these  years?" 

She  told  him.  At  first  Jurgen  could  not  believe  her, 
but  presently  Jurgen  was  convinced,  through  at  least  two 
of  his  senses,  that  what  Chloris  told  him  was  true  about 
hamadryads. 

"Otherwise,  you  are  not  markedly  unlike  the  women  of 
Eubonia,"  said  Jurgen.  , 

And  now  Jurgen  met  many  of  the  People  of  the  Wood ; 
but  since  the  tree  of  Chloris  stood  upon  the  verge  of  the 
forest,  he  saw  far  more  of  the  People  of  the  Field,  who 
dwelt  between  the  forest  and  the  city  of  Pseudopolis. 
These  were  the  neighbors  and  the  ordinary  associates 
of  Chloris  and  Jurgen ;  though  once  in  a  w^hile,  of  course, 
there  would  be  family  gatherings  in  the  forest.  But 
Jurgen  presently  had  found  good  reason  to  distrust  the 
People  of  the  Wood,  and  went  to  none  of  these 
gatherings. 

"For  in  Eubonia,"  he  said,  "we  are  taught  that  your 
wife's  relatives  will  never  find  fault  with  you  to  your 
face  so  long  as  you  keep  away  from  them.  And  more 
than  that,  no  sensible  man  expects." 

Meanwhile,  King  Jurgen  was  perplexed  by  the  People 
of  the  Field,  who  were  his  neighbors.  They  one  and  alt 
did  what  they  had  always  done.  Thus  Runcina  saw  to  it 
that  the  Fields  were  weeded:  Seia  took  care  of  the  seed 
while  it  was  buried  in  the  earth:  Nodosa  arranged  the 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  LEUKE  205 


knots  and  joints  of  the  stalk:  Volusia  folded  the  blade 
around  the  corn:  each  had  an  immemorial  duty.  And 
there  was  hardly  a  day  that  somebody  was  not  busied  in 
the  Fields,  whether  it  was  Occator  harrowing,  or  Sator 
and  Sarritor  about  their  sowing  and  raking,  or  Stercutius 
manuring  the  ground:  and  Hippona  was  always  bustling 
about  in  one  place  or  another  looking  after  the  horses, 
or  else  Bubona  would  be  there  attending  to  the  cattle. 
There  was  never  any  restfulness  in  the  Fields. 

"And  why  do  you  do  these  things  year  in  and  year 
out?"  asked  Jurgen. 

"Why,  King  of  Eubonia,  we  have  always  done  these 
things,"  they  said,  in  high  astonishment. 

"Yes,  but  why  not  stop  occasionally?" 

"Because  in  that  event  the  work  would  stop.  The 
corn  would  die,  the  cattle  would  perish,  and  the  Fields 
would  become  jungles." 

"But,  as  I  understand  it,  this  is  not  your  corn,  nor 
your  cattle,  nor  your  Fields.  You  derive  no  good  from 
them.  And  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  your  ceasing  this 
interminable  labor,  and  living  as  do  the  People  of  the 
Wood,  who  perform  no  heavy  work  whatever." 

"I  should  think  not!"  said  Aristseus,  and  his  teeth 
flashed  in  a  smile  that  was  very  pleasant  to  see,  as  he 
strained  at  the  olive-press.  "Whoever  heard  of  the 
People  of  the  Wood  doing  anything  useful !" 

"Yes,  but,"  says  Jurgen,  patiently,  "do  you  think  it  is 
quite  fair  to  yourselves  to  be  always  about  some  tedious 
and  difficult  labor  when  nobody  compels  you  to  do  it? 
Why  do  you  not  sometimes  take  holiday?" 

"King  Jurgen,"  replied  Fornax,  looking  up  from  the 
little  furnace  wherein  she  was  parching  corn,  "you  are 


206  JURGEN 


talking  nonsense.  The  People  of  the  Field  have  never 
taken  holiday.  Nobody  ever  heard  of  such  a  thing." 

"We  should  think  not  indeed!"  said  all  the  others, 
sagely. 

"Ah,  ah!"  said  Jurgen,  "so  that  is  your  demolishing 
reason.  Well,  I  shall  inquire  about  this  matter  among 
the  People  of  the  Wood,  for  they  may  be  more  sensible." 

Then  as  Jurgen  was  about  to  enter  the  forest,  he  en 
countered  Terminus,  perfumed  with  ointment,  and 
crowned  with  a  garland  of  roses,  and  standing  stock  still. 

"Aha,"  said  Jurgen,  "so  here  is  one  of  the  People  of 
the  Wood  about  to  go  down  into  the  Fields.  But  if  I 
were  you,  my  friend,  I  would  keep  away  from  any  such 
foolish  place." 

"I  never  go  down  into  the  Fields,"  said  Terminus. 

"Oh,  then,  you  are  returning  into  the  forest." 

"But  certainly  not.  Whoever  heard  of  my  going  into 
the  forest!" 

"Indeed,  now  I  look  at  you,  you  are  merely  standing 
here." 

"I  have  always  stood  here,"  said  Terminus. 

"And  do  you  never  move?" 

"No,"  said  Terminus. 

"And  for  what  reason?" 

"Because  I  have  always  stood  here  without  moving," 
replied  Terminus.  "Why,  for  me  to  move  would  be  a 
quite  unheard-of  thing." 

So  Jurgen  left  him,  and  went  into  the  forest.  And 
there  Jurgen  encountered  a  smiling  young  fellow,  who 
rode  upon  the  back  of  a  large  ram.  This  young  man  had 
his  left  fore-finger  laid  to  his  lips,  and  his  right  hand 
held  an  astonishing  object  to  be  thus  publicly  displayed. 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  LEUKE  207 


"But,  oh,  dear  me!  now,  really,  sir — !"  says  Jurgen. 

"Bah!"  says  the  ram. 

But  the  smiling  young  fellow  said  nothing  at  all  as  he 
passed  Jurgen,  because  it  is  not  the  custom  of  Harpo- 
crates  to  speak. 

"Which  would  be  well  enough,"  reflected  Jurgen,  "if 
only  his  custom  did  not  make  for  stiffness  and  the  embar 
rassment  of  others." 

Thereafter  Jurgen  came  upon  a  considerable  commo 
tion  in  the  bushes,  where  a  satyr  was  at  play  with  an 
oread. 

"Oh,  but  this  forest  is  not  respectable !"  said  Jurgen. 
"Have  you  no  ethics  and  morals,  you  People  of  the 
Wood!  Have  you  no  sense  of  responsibility  whatever, 
thus  to  be  frolicking  on  a  working-day?" 

"Why,  no,"  responded  the  Satyr,  "of  course  not.  None 
of  my  people  have  such  things :  and  so  the  natural  voca 
tion  of  all  satyrs  is  that  which  you  are  now  interrupting.'* 

"Perhaps  you  speak  the  truth,"  said  Jurgen.  "Still, 
you  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  the  fact  that  you  are  not 
lying." 

"For  a  satyr  to  be  ashamed  of  himself  would  be  indeed 
an  unheard-  of  thing !  Now  go  away,  you  in  the  glittering 
shirt !  for  we  are  studying  eudaemonism,  and  you  are  talk 
ing  nonsense,  and  I  am  busy,  and  you  annoy  me,"  said 
the  Satyr. 

"Well,  but  in  Cocaigne,"  said  Jurgen,  "this  eudaemon 
ism  was  considered  an  indoor  diversion." 

"And  did  you  ever  hear  of  a  satyr  going  indoors?" 

"Why,  save  us  from  all  hurt  and  harm !  but  what  has 
that  to  do  with  it  ?" 

"Do  not  try  to  equivocate,  you  shining  idiot !    For  now 


208  JURGEN 


you  see  for  yourself  you  are  talking  nonsense.  And  I 
repeat  that  such  unheard-of  nonsense  irritates  me/'  said 
the  Satyr. 

The  Oread  said  nothing  at  all.  But  she  too  looked 
annoyed,  and  Jurgen  reflected  that  it  was  probably  not 
the  custom  of  oreads  to  be  rescued  from  the  eudaemonism 
of  satyrs. 

So  Jurgen  left  them;  and  yet  deeper  in  the  forest  he 
found  a  bald-headed  squat  old  man,  with  a  big  paunch 
and  a  fiat  red  nose  and  very  small  bleared  eyes.  Now 
the  old  fellow  was  so  helplessly  drunk  that  he  could  not 
walk :  instead,  he  sat  upon  the  ground,  and  leaned  against 
a  tree-bole. 

"This  is  a  very  disgusting  state  for  you  to  be  in  so 
early  in  the  morning,"  observed  Jurgen. 

"But  Silenus  is  always  drunk,"  the  bald-headed  man 
responded,  with  a  dignified  hiccough. 

"So  here  is  another  one  of  you!  Well,  and  why  are 
you  always  drunk,  Silenus  ?" 

"Because  Silenus  is  the  wisest  of  the  People  of  the 
Wood." 

"Ah,  ah !  but  I  apologize.  For  here  at  last  is  somebody 
with  a  plausible  excuse  for  his  daily  employment.  Now, 
then,  Silenus,  since  you  are  so  wise,  come  tell  me,  is  it 
really  the  best  fate  for  a  man  to  be  drunk  always?" 

"Not  at  all.  Drunkenness  is  a  joy  reserved  for  the 
Gods :  so  do  men  partake  of  it  impiously,  and  so  are  they 
very  properly  punished  for  their  audacity.  For  men,  it 
is  best  of  all  never  to  be  born ;  but,  being  born,  to  die 
very  quickly." 

"Ah,  yes*!  but  failing  either?" 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  LEUKE  209 

"The  third  best  thing  for  a  man  is  to  do  that  which 
seems  expected  of  him,"  replied  Silenus. 

"But  that  is  the  Law  of  Philistia:  and  with  Philistia, 
they  mform  me,  Pseudopolis  is  at  war." 

Silenus  meditated.  Jurgen  had  discovered  an  uncom 
fortable  thing  about  this  old  fellow,  and  it  was  that  his 
small  bleared  eyes  did  not  blink  nor  the  lids  twitch  at 
all.  His  eyes  moved,  as  through  magic  the  eyes  of  a 
painted  statue  might  move  horribly,  under  quite  motion- 
kss  red  lids.  Therefore  it  was  uncomfortable  when  these 
eyes  moved  toward  you. 

"Young  fellow  in  the  glittering  shirt,  I  will  tell  you  a 
secret :  and  it  is  that  the  Philistines  were  created  after  the 
image  of  Koshchei  who  made  some  things  as  they  are. 
Do  you  think  upon  that !  So  the  Philistines  do  that  which 
seems  expected.  And  the  people  of  Leuke  were  created 
after  the  image  of  Koshchei  who  made  yet  other  things 
as  they  are :  therefore  do  the  people  of  Leuke  do  that 
which  is  customary,  adhering  to  classical  tradition.  Do 
you  think  upon  that  also!  Then  do  you  pick  your  side 
in  this  war,  remembering  that  you  side  with  stupidity 
either  way.  And  when  that  happens  which  will  happen, 
do  you  remember  how  Silenus  foretold  to  you  precisely 
what  would  happen,  a  long  while  before  it  happened,  be 
cause  Silenus  was  so  old  and  so  wise  and  so  very  disre 
putably  drunk,  and  so  very,  very  sleepy." 

"Yes,  certainly,  Silenus:  but  how  will  this  war  end?" 

"Dullness  will  conquer  dullness :  and  it  will  not  matter." 

"Ah,  yes!  but  what  will  become,  in  all  this  fighting,  of 
Jurgen?" 

"That  will  not  matter  either,"  said  Silenus,  comfort- 


210  JURGEN 


ably.  "Nobody  will  bother  about  you."  And  with  that 
he  closed  his  horrible  bleared  eyes  and  went  to  sleep. 

So  Jurgen  left  the  old  tippler,  and  started  to  leave  the 
forest  also.  "For  undoubtedly  all  the  people  in  Leuke 
are  resolute  to  do  that  which  is  customary,"  reflected 
Jurgen,  "for  the  unarguable  reason  it  is  their  custom, 
and  has  always  been  their  custom.  And  they  will  desist 
from  these  practises  when  the  cat  eats  acorns,  but  not 
before.  So  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  inquire  no  further 
into  the  matter.  For  after  all,  these  people  may  be  right ; 
and  certainly  I  cannot  go  so  far  as  to  say  they  are 
wrong."  Jurgen  shrugged.  "But  still,  at  the  same 
time—!" 

Now  in  returning  to  his  cabin  Jurgen  heard  a  frightful 
sort  of  yowling  and  screeching  as  of  mad  people. 

"Hail,  daughter  of  various- formed  Protogonus,  thou 
that  takest  joy  in  mountains  and  battles  and  in  the  beating 
of  the  drum !  Hail,  thou  deceitful  saviour,  mother  of  all 
gods,  that  comest  now,  pleased  with  long  wanderings,  to 
be  propitious  to  us !" 

But  the  uproar  was  becoming  so  increasingly  unpleas 
ant  that  Jurgen  at  this  point  withdrew  into  a  thicket :  and 
thence  he  witnessed  the  passing  through  the  Woods  of 
a  notable  procession.  There  were  features  connected 
with  this  procession  sufficiently  unusual  to  cause  Jurgen 
to  vow  that  the  desiderated  moment  wherein  he  walked 
unhurt  from  the  forest  would  mark  the  termination  of 
his  last  visit  thereto.  Then  amazement  tripped  up  the" 
heels  of  terror:  for  now  passed  Mother  Sereda,  or,  as 
Anaitis  had  called  her,  ^Esred.  To-day,  in  place  of  a 
towel  about  her  head,  she  wore  a  species  of  crown,  shaped 
like  a  circlet  of  crumbling  towers :  she  carried  a  large  key, 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  LEUKE  211 


and  her  chariot  was  drawn  by  two  lions.  She  was  at 
tended  by  howling  persons,  with  shaved  heads  :  and  it  was 
apparent  that  these  persons  had  parted  with  possessions 
which  Jurgen  valued. 

"This  is  undoubtedly,"  said  he,  "a  most  unwholesome 
forest." 

Jurgen  inquired  about  this  procession,  later,  and  from 
Chloris  he  got  information  which  surprised  him. 

"And  these  are  the  beings  who  I  had  thought  were 
poetic  ornaments  of  speech!  But  what  is  the  old  lady 
doing  in  such  high  company?" 

He  described  Mother  Sereda,  and  Chloris  told  him  whd 
this  was.  Now  Jurgen  shook  his  sleek  black  head. 

"Behold  another  mystery!  Yet  after  all,  it  is  no  con 
cern  of  mine  if  the  old  lady  elects  for  an  additional 
anagram.  I  should  be  the  last  person  to  criticize  her, 
inasmuch  as  to  me  she  has  been  more  than  generous. 
Well,  I  shall  preserve  her  friendship  by  the  infallible 
recipe  of  keeping  out  of  her  way.  Oh,  but  I  shall  cer 
tainly  keep  out  of  her  way  now  that  I  have  perceived 
what  is  done  to  the  men  who  serve  her." 

And  after  that  Jurgen  and  Chloris  lived  very  pleasant 
ly  together,  though  Jurgen  began  to  find  his  Hamadryad 
a  trifle  unperceptive,  if  not  actually  obtuse. 

"She  does  not  understand  me,  and  she  does  not  always 
treat  my  superior  wisdom  quite  respectfully  That  is 
unfair,  but  it  seems  to  be  an  unavoidable  feature  of 
married  life.  Besides,  if  any  woman  had  ever  understood 
me  she  would,  in  self-protection,  have  refused  to  marry 
me.  In  any  case,  Chloris  is  a  dear  brown  plump  delicious 
partridge  of  a  darling:  and  cleverness  in  women  is,  after 
all,  a  virtue  misplaced." 


212  JURGEN 


And  Jurgen  did  not  return  into  the  Woods,  nor  did 
he  go  down  into  the  city.  Neither  the  People  of  the 
Field  nor  of  the  Wood,  of  course,  ever  went  within  city 
gates.  "But  I  would  think  that  you  would  like  to  see  the 
fine  sights  of  Pseudopolis,"  says  Chloris, — "and  that  fine 
Queen  of  theirs,"  she  added,  almost  as  though  she  spoke 
without  premeditation. 

"Woman  dear,"  says  Jurgen,  "  I  do  not  wish  to  appear 
boastful.  But  in  Eubonia,  now !  well,  really  some  day  we 
must  return  to  my  kingdom,  and  you  shall  inspect  for 
yourself  a  dozen  or  two  of  my  cities — Ziph  and  Eglington 
and  Poissieux  and  Gazden  and  Baremburg,  at  all  events. 
And  then  you  will  concede  with  me  that  this  little  village 
of  Pseudopolis,  while  well  enough  in  its  way — !"  And 
Jurgen  shrugged.  "But  as  for  saying  more !" 

"Sometimes,"  said  Chloris,  "I  wonder  if  there  is  any 
such  place  as  your  fine  kingdom  of  Eubonia:  for  cer 
tainly  it  grows  larger  and  more  splendid  every  time  you 
talk  of  it." 

"Now  can  it  be,"  asks  Jurgen,  more  hurt  than  angry, 
"that  you  suspect  me  of  uncandid  dealing  and,  in  short, 
of  being  an  impostor !" 

"Why,  what  does  it  matter?  You  are  Jurgen,"  she 
answered,  happily. 

And  the  man  was  moved  as  she  smiled  at  him  across 
the  glowing  queer  embroidery-work  at  which  Chloris 
seemed  to  labor  interminably:  he  was  conscious  of  a  ten 
derness  for  her  which  was  oddly  remorseful :  and  it  ap 
peared  to  him  that  if  he  had  known  lovelier  women  he  had 
certainly  found  nowhere  anyone  more  lovable  than  was 
this  plump  and  busy  and  sunny-tempered  little  wife  of  his. 

"My  dear,  I  do  not  care  to  see  Queen  Helen  again,  and 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  LEUKE  213 


that  is  a  fact.  I  am  contented  here,  with  a  wife  befitting 
my  station,  suited  to  my  endowments,  and  infinitely  excel 
ling  my  deserts." 

"And  do  you  think  of  that  tow-headed  bean-pole  very 
often,  King  Jurgen?" 

"That  is  unfair,  and  you  wrong  me,  Chloris,  with  these 
unmerited  suspicions.  It  pains  me  to  reflect,  my  dear, 
that  you  esteem  the  tie  between  us  so  lightly  you  can  con 
sider  me  capable  of  breaking  it  even  in  thought." 

"To  talk  of  fairness  is  all  very  well,  but  it  is  no  answer 
to  a  plain  question." 

Jurgen  looked  full  at  her;  and  he  laughed.  "You 
women  are  so  unscrupulously  practical.  My  dear,  I  have 
seen  Queen  Helen  face  to  face.  But  it  is  you  whom  I 
love  as  a  man  customarily  loves  a  woman." 

"That  is  not  saying  much." 

"No :  for  I  endeavor  to  speak  in  consonance  with  my 
importance.  You  forget  that  I  have  also  seen  Achilles." 

"But  you  admired  Achilles!  You  told  me  so  your^ 
self." 

"I  admired  the  perfections  of  Achilles,  but  I  cordially 
dislike  the  man  who  possesses  them.  Therefore  I  shall 
keep  away  from  both  the  King  and  Queen  of  Pseu- 
dopolis." 

"Yet  you  will  not  go  into  the  Woods,  either,  Jurgen — " 

"Not  after  what  I  have  witnessed  there,"  said  Jurgen, 
with  an  exaggerated  shudder  that  was  not  very  much 
exaggerated. 

Now  Chloris  laughed,  and  quitted  her  queer  embroidery 
in  order  to  rumple  up  his  hair.  "And  you  find  the  People 
of  the  Field  so  insufferably  stupid,  and  so  uninterested 
by  your  Zorobasiuses  and  Ptolemopiters  and  so  on,  that 


214  JURGEN 


you  keep  away  from  them  also.  O  foolish  man  of  mine, 
you  are  determined  to  be  neither  fish  nor  beast  nor  poul 
try  :  and  nowhere  will  you  ever  consent  to  be  happy." 

"It  was  not  I  who  determined  my  nature,  Chloris :  and 
as  for  being  happy,  I  make  no  complaint.  Indeed,  I  have 
nothing  to  complain  of,  nowadays.  So  I  am  very  well 
contented  by  my  dear  wife  and  by  my  manner  of  living 
in  Leuke,"  said  Jurgen,  with  a  sigh. 


29. 

Concerning  Horuendile*  s  Nonsense 


IT  was  on  a  bright  and  tranquil  day  in  November,  at 
the  period  which  the  People  of  the  Field  called  the 
summer  of  Alcyone,  that  Jurgen  went  down  from 
the  forest;  and  after  skirting  the  moats  of  Pseudopolis, 
and  avoiding  a  meeting  with  any  of  the  town's  dispirit- 
ingly  glorious  inhabitants,  Jurgen  came  to  the  seashore. 

Chloris  had  suggested  his  doing  this,  in  order  that  she 
could  have  a  chance  to  straighten  things  in  his  cabin 
while  she  was  tidying  her  tree  for  the  winter,  and  could 
so  make  one  day's  work  serve  for  two.  For  the  dryad 
of  an  oak-tree  has  large  responsibilities,  what  with  the 
care  of  so  many  dead  leaves  all  winter,  and  the  acorns 
being  blown  from  their  places  and  littering  up  the  ground 
everywhere,  and  the  bark  cracking  until  it  looks  positively 
disreputable:  and  Jurgen  was  at  any  such  work  less  a 
help  than  a  hindrance.  So  Chloris  gave  him  a  parcel  of 
lunch  and  a  perfunctory  kiss,  and  told  him  to  go  down  to 
the  seashore  and  get  inspired  and  make  up  a  pretty  poem 
about  her.  "And  do  you  be  back  in  time  for  an  early  sup 
per,  Jurgen,"  says  she,  "but  not  a  minute  before." 

Thus  it  befell  that  Jurgen  reflectively  ate  his  lunch  in 
solitude,  and  regarded  the  Euxine.  The  sun  was  high, 
and  the  queer  shadow  that  followed  Jurgen  was  huddled 
into  shapelessness. 

215 


216  JURGEN 


"This  is  indeed  an  inspiring  spectacle,"  Jurgen 
reflected.  "How  puny  seems  the  race  of  man,  in  contrast 
with  this  mighty  sea,  which  now  spreads  before  me  like, 
as  So-and-so  has  very  strikingly  observed,  a  something 
or  other  under  such  and  such  conditions !"  Then  Jurgen 
shrugged.  "Really,  now  I  think  of  it,  though,  there  is  no 
call  for  me  to  be  suffused  with  the  traditional  emotions. 
It  looks  like  a  great  deal  of  water,  and  like  nothing  else 
in  particular.  And  I  cannot  but  consider  the  water  is 
behaving  rather  futilely." 

So  he  sat  in  drowsy  contemplation  of  the  sea.  Far  out 
a  shadow  would  form  on  the  water,  like  the  shadow  of  a 
broadish  plank,  scudding  shoreward,  and  lengthening  and 
darkening  as  it  approached.  Presently  it  would  be  some 
hundred  feet  in  length,  and  would  assume  a  hard  smooth 
darkness,  like  that  of  green  stone :  this  was  the  under  side 
of  the  wave.  Then  the  top  of  it  would  curdle,  the  south 
ern  end  of  the  wave  would  collapse,  and  with  exceeding 
swiftness  this  white  feathery  falling  would  plunge  and 
scamper  and  bluster  northward,  the  full  length  of  the 
wave.  It  would  be  neater  and  more  workmanlike  to  have 
each  wave  tumble  down  as  a  whole.  From  the  smacking 
and  the  splashing,  what  looked  like  boiling  milk  would 
thrust  out  over  the  brown  sleek  sands:  and  as  the  mess 
spread  it  would  thin  to  a  reticulated  whiteness,  like  lace, 
and  then  to  the  appearance  of  smoke  sprays  clinging  to 
the  sands.  Plainly  the  tide  was  coming  in. 

Or  perhaps  it  was  going  out.  Jurgen's  notions  as  to 
such  phenomena  were  vague.  But,  either  way,  the  sea 
was  stirring  up  a  large  commotion  and  a  rather  pleasant 
and  invigorating  odor. 

And  then  all  this  would  happen  once  more:  and  then 


CONCERNING  HORVENDILE'S  NONSENSE        217 

it  would  happen  yet  again.  It  had  happened  a  number  of 
hundred  of  times  since  Jurgen  first  sat  down  to  eat  his 
lunch :  and  what  was  gained  by  it  ?  The  sea  was  behaving 
stupidly.  There  was  no  sense  in  this  continual  sloshing 
and  spanking  and  scrabbling  and  spluttering. 

Thus  Jurgen,  as  he  nodded  over  the  remnants  of  his 
lunch. 

"Sheer  waste  of  energy,  I  am  compelled  to  call  it," 
said  Jurgen,  aloud,  just  as  he  noticed  there  were  two 
other  men  on  this  long  beach. 

One  came  from  the  north,  one  from  the  south,  so  that 
they  met  not  far  from  where  Jurgen  was  sitting :  and  by 
an  incredible  coincidence  Jurgen  had  known  both  of  these 
men  in  his  first  youth.  So  he  hailed  them,  and  they  recog 
nized  him  at  once.  One  of  these  travellers  was  the  Hor- 
vendile  who  had  been  secretary  to  Count  Emmerick  when 
Jurgen  was  a  lad :  and  the  other  was  Perion  de  la  Foret, 
that  outlaw  who  had  come  to  Bellegarde  very  long  ago 
disguised  as  the  Vicomte  de  Puysange.  And  all  three  of 
these  old  acquaintances  had  kept  their  youth  surprisingly. 

Now  Horvendile  and  Perion  marveled  at  the  fine  shirt 
which  Jurgen  was  wearing. 

"Why,  you  must  know,"  he  said,  modestly,  "that  I  have 
lately  become  King  of  Eubonia,  and  must  dress  according 
to  my  station." 

So  they  said  they  had  always  expected  some  such  high 
honor  to  befall  him,  and  then  the  three  of  them  fell  to 
talking.  And  Perion  told  how  he  had  come  through 
Pseudopolis,  on  his  way  to  King  Theodoret  at  Lacre  Kai, 
and  how  in  the  market-place  at  Pseudopolis  he  had  seen 
Queen  Helen.  "She  is  a  very  lovely  lady,"  said  Perion, 


218  JURGEN 


"and  I  marvelled  over  her  resemblance  to  Count  Em 
merick's  fair  sister,  whom  we  all  remember." 

"I  noticed  that  at  once,"  said  Horvendile,  and  he 
smiled  strangely,  "when  I,  too,  passed  through  the  city.* 

"Why,  but  nobody  could  fail  to  notice  it,"  said  Jurgen. 

"It  is  not,  of  course,  that  I  consider  her  to  be  as  lovely 
as  Dame  Melicent,"  continued  Perion,  "since,  as  I  have 
contended  in  all  quarters  of  the  world,  there  has  never 
lived,  and  will  never  live,  any  woman  so  beautiful  as 
Melicent.  But  you  gentlemen  appear  surprised  by  what 
seems  to  me  a  very  simple  statement.  Your  air,  in  fine, 
is  one  that  forces  me  to  point  out  it  is  a  statement  I  can 
permit  nobody  to  deny."  And  Perion' s  honest  eyes  had 
narrowed  unpleasantly,  and  his  sun-browned  countenance 
was  uncomfortably  stern. 

"Dear  sir,"  said  Jurgen,  hastily,  "it  was  merely  that  it 
oppeared  to  me  the  lady  whom  they  call  Queen  Helen 
hereabouts  is  quite  evidently  Count  Emmerick's  sister 
Dorothy  la  Desiree." 

"Whereas  I  recognized  her  at  once,"  says  Horvendile, 
''as  Count  Emmerick's  third  sister,  La  Beale  Ettarre." 

And  now  they  stared  at  one  another,  for  it  was  certain 
that  these  three  sisters  were  not  particularly  alike. 

"Putting  aside  any  question  of  eyesight,"  observes 
Perion,  "it  is  indisputable  that  the  language  of  both  of 
you  is  distorted.  For  one  of  you  says  this  is  Madame 
Dorothy,  and  the  other  says  this  is  Madame  Ettarre: 
whereas  everybody  knows  that  this  Queen  Helen,  whom 
ever  she  may  resemble,  cannot  possibly  be  anybody  else 
save  Queen  Helen." 

"To  you,  who  are  always  the  same  person,"  replied 
Jurgen,  "that  may  sound  reasonable.  For  my  part,  I  am 


CONCERNING  HORVENDILE'S  NONSENSE        219 


several  people:  and  I  detect  no  incongruity  in  other 
persons'  resembling  me." 

"There  would  be  no  incongruity  anywhere,"  suggested 
Horvendile,  "if  Queen  Helen  were  the  woman  whom  we 
had  loved  in  vain.  For  the  woman  whom  when  we  were 
young  we  loved  in  vain  is  the  one  woman  that  we  can 
never  see  quite  clearly,  whatever  happens.  So  we  might 
easily,  I  suppose,  confuse  her  with  some  other  woman." 

"But  Melicent  is  the  lady  whom  I  have  loved  in  vain," 
said  Perion,  "and  I  care  nothing  whatever  about  Queen 
Helen.  Why  should  I?  What  do  you  mean  now,  Hor 
vendile,  by  your  hints  that  I  have  faltered  in  my  con 
stancy  to  Dame  Melicent  since  I  saw  Queen  Helen?  I 
do  not  like  such  hints." 

"No  less,  it  is  Ettarre  whom  I  love,  and  have  loved 
not  quite  in  vain,  and  have  loved  unfalteringly,"  says 
Horvendile,  with  his  quiet  smile :  "and  I  am  certain  that 
it  was  Ettarre  whom  I  beheld  when  I  looked  upon  Queen 
Helen." 

"I  may  confess,"  says  Jurgen,  clearing  his  throat,  "that 
I  have  always  regarded  Madame  Dorothy  with  peculiar 
respect  and  admiration.  For  the  rest,  I  am  married. 
Even  so,  I  think  that  Madame  Dorothy  is  Queen  Helen." 

Then  they  fell  to  debating  this  mystery.  And  presently 
Perion  said  the  one  way  out  was  to  leave  the  matter  to 
Queen  Helen.  "She  at  all  events  must  know  who  she  is. 
So  do  one  of  you  go  back  into  the  city,  and  embrace  her 
knees  as  is  the  custom  of  this  country  when  one  implores 
a  favor  of  the  King  or  the  Queen :  and  do  you  then  ask 
her  fairly," 

"Not  I,"  says  Jurgen.  "I  am  upon  terms  of  some  in 
timacy  with  a  hamadryad  just  at  present.  I  am  content 


220  JURGEN 


with  my  Hamadryad.  And  I  intend  never  to  venture 
into  the  presence  of  Queen  Helen  any  more,  in  order  to 
preserve  my  contentment." 

"Why,  but  I  cannot  go,"  says  Perion,  "because  Dame 
Melicent  has  a  little  mole  upon  her  left  cheek.  And 
Queen  Helen's  cheek  is  flawless.  You  understand,  of 
course,  that  I  am  certain  this  mole  immeasurably  en 
hances  the  beauty  of  Dame  Melicent,"  he  added,  loyally. 
"None  the  less,  I  mean  to  hold  no  further  traffic  with 
Queen  Helen." 

"Now  my  reason  for  not  going  is  this,"  said  Horven- 
dile: — "that  if  I  attempted  to  embrace  the  knees  of 
Ettarre,  whom  people  hereabouts  call  Helen,  she  would 
instantly  vanish.  Other  matters  apart,  I  do  not  wish  to 
bring  any  such  misfortune  upon  the  Island  of  Leuke." 

"But  that,"  said  Perion,  "is  nonsense." 

"Of  course  it  is,"  said  Horvendile.  "That  is  probably 
why  it  happens." 

So  none  of  them  would  go.  And  each  of  them  clung, 
none  the  less,  to  his  own  opinion  about  Queen  Helen. 
And  presently  Perion  said  they  were  wasting  both  time' 
and  words.  Then  Perion  bade  the  two  farewell,  and 
Perion  continued  southward,  toward  Lacre  Kai.  And  as 
he  went  he  sang  a  song  in  honor  of  Dame  Melicent,  whom 
he  celebrated  as  Heart  o'  My  Heart:  and  the  two  who 
heard  him  agreed  that  Perion  de  la  Foret  was  probably 
the  worst  poet  in  the  world. 

"Nevertheless,  there  goes  a  very  chivalrous  and  worthy 
gentleman,"  said  Horvendile,  "intent  to  play  out  the  re 
mainder  of  his  romance.  I  wonder  if  the  Author  gets 
much  pleasure  from  these  simple  characters?  At  lea«?t. 
they  must  be  easy  to  handle." 


CONCERNING  HORVENDILE'S  NONSENSE        221 


"I  cultivate  a  judicious  amount  of  gallantry,"  says 
Jurgen:  "I  do  not  any  longer  aspire  to  be  chivalrous. 
And  indeed,  Horvendile,  it  seems  to  me  indisputable  that 
each  one  of  us  is  the  hero  in  his  own  romance,  and  can 
not  understand  any  other  person's  romance,  but  mis 
interprets  everything  therein,  very  much  as  we  three  have 
fallen  out  in  the  simple  matter  of  a  woman's  face." 

Now  young  Horvendile  meditatively  stroked  his  own 
curly  and  reddish  hair,  brushing  it  away  from  his  ears 
with  his  left  hand,  as  he  sat  there  staring  meditatively  at 
nothing  in  particular. 

"I  would  put  it,  Jurgen,  that  we  three  have  met  like 
characters  out  of  three  separate  romances  which  the 
Author  has  composed  in  different  styles." 

"That  also,"  Jurgen  submitted,  "would  be  nonsense." 

"Ah,  but  perhaps  the  Author  very  often  perpetrates 
nonsense.  Come  Jurgen,  you  who  are  King  of  Eubonia !" 
says  Horvendile,  with  his  wide-set  eyes  a-twinkle ;  "what 
is  there  in  you  or  me  to  attest  that  our  Author  has  not 
composed  our  romances  with  his  tongue  in  his  cheek  ?" 

"Messire  Horvendile,  if  you  are  attempting  to  joke 
about  Koshchei  who  made  all  things  as  they  are,  I  warn 
you  I  do  not  consider  that  sort  of  humor  very  wholesome. 
Without  being  prudish,  I  believe  in  common-sense :  and  I 
would  vastly  prefer  to  have  you  talk  about  something 
else." 

Horvendile  was  still  smiling.  "You  look  some  day  to 
come  to  Koshchei,  as  you  call  the  Author.  That  is  easily 
said,  and  sounds  excellently.  Ah,  but  how  will  you  recog 
nize  Koshchei?  and  how  do  you  know  you  have  not 
already  passed  by  Koshchei  in  some  street  or  meadow? 
Come  now,  King  Jurgen,"  said  Horvendile,  and  still  his 


222  JURGEN 


young  face  wore  an  impish  smile ;  "come  tell  me,  how  do 
you  know  that  I  am  not  Koshchei  who  made  all  things 
as  they  are?" 

"Be  off  with  you!"  says  Jurgen;  "you  would  never 
have  had  the  wit  to  invent  a  Jurgen.  Something  else  is 
troubling  me:  I  have  just  recollected  that  the  young 
Perion  who  left  us  only  a  moment  since,  grew  to  be  rich 
and  gray-headed  and  famous,  and  took  Dame  Melicent 
from  her  pagan  husband,  and  married  her  himself :  and 
that  all  this  happened  long  years  ago.  So  our  recent  talk 
with  young  Perion  seems  very  improbable." 

"Why,  but  do  you  not  remember,  too,  that  I  ran  away 
in  the  night  when  Maugis  d'Aigremont  stormed  Storis- 
ende  ?  and  was  never  heard  of  any  more  ?  and  that  all  this, 
too,  took  place  a  long,  long  while  ago  ?  Yet  we  have  met 
as  three  fine  young  fellows,  here  on  the  beach  of  fabulous 
Leuke.  I  put  it  to  you  fairly,  King  Jurgen:  now  how 
could  this  conceivably  have  come  about  unless  the  Author 
sometimes  composes  nonsense?" 

"Truly  the  way  that  you  express  it,  Horvendile,  the 
thing  does  seem  a  little  strange;  and  I  can  think  of  no 
explanation  rendering  it  plausible." 

"Again,  see  now,  King  Jurgen  of  Eubonia,  how  you 
underrate  the  Author's  ability.  This  is  one  of  the 
romancer's  most  venerable  devices  that  is  being  practised. 
See  for  yourself!"  And  suddenly  Horvendile  pushed 
Jurgen  so  that  Jurgen  tumbled  over  in  the  warm  sand. 

Then  Jurgen  arose,  gaping  and  stretching  himself. 
"That  was  a  very  foolish  dream  I  had,  napping  here  in 
the  sun.  For  it  was  certainly  a  dream.  Otherwise,  they 
would  have  left  footprints,  these  young  fellows  who  have 
gone  the  way  of  youth  so  long  ago.  And  it  was  a  dream 


CONCERNING  HORVENDILE'S  NONSENSE        223 


that  had  no  sense  in  it.  But  indeed  it  would  be  strange 
if  that  were  the  whole  point  of  it,  and  if  living,  too,  were 
such  a  dream,  as  that  queer  Horvendile  would  have  me 
think." 

Jurgen  snapped  his  fingers. 

"Well,  and  what  in  common  fairness  could  he  or  any 
one  else  expect  me  to  do  about  it!  That  is  the  answer 
I  fling  at  you,  you  Horvendile  whom  I  made  up  in  a 
dream.  And  I  disown  you  as  the  most  futile  of  my  in 
ventions.  So  be  off  with  you !  and  a  good  riddance,  too, 
for  I  never  held  with  upsetting  people." 

Then  Jurgen  dusted  himself,  and  trudged  home  to  an 
early  supper  with  the  Hamadryad  who  contented  him. 


30. 

Economics  of  King  Jurgen 


NOW  Jurgen's  curious  dream  put  notions  into  the 
restless  head  of  Jurgen.  So  mighty  became  his 
curiosity  that  he  went  shuddering  into  the  ab 
horred  Woods,  and  passed  over  Coalisnacoan  (which  is 
the  Ferry  of  Dogs),  and  did  all  such  detestable  things  as 
were  necessary  to  placate  Phobetor.  Then  Jurgen  tricked 
Phobetor  by  an  indescribable  device,  wherein  surprising 
use  was  made  of  a  cheese  and  three  beetles  and  a  gimlet, 
and  so  cheated  Phobetor  out  of  a  gray  magic.  And  that 
night  while  Pseudopolis  slept  King  Jurgen  came  down 
into  this  city  of  gold  and  ivory. 

Jurgen  went  with  distaste  among  the  broad-browed 
and  great-limbed  monarchs  of  Pseudopolis,  for  they  re 
minded  him  of  things  that  he  had  long  ago  put  aside, 
and  they  made  him  feel  unpleasantly  ignoble  and  insignifi 
cant.  That  was  his  real  reason  for  avoiding  the  city. 

Now  he  passed  between  unlighted  and  silent  palaces, 
walking  in  deserted  streets  where  the  moon  made  ominous 
shadows.  Here  was  the  house  of  Ajax  Telamon  who 
reigned  in  sea-girt  Salamis,  here  that  of  god-like  Philoc- 
tetes :  much-counseling  Odysseus  dwelt  just  across  the 
way,  and  the  corner  residence  was  fair-haired  Aga 
memnon's  :  in  the  moonlight  Jurgen  easily  made  out 
these  names  engraved  upon  the  bronze  shield  that 

224 


ECONOMICS  OF  KING  JURGEN  225 


hung  beside  each  doorway.  To  every  side  of  him  slept 
the  heroes  of  old  song  while  Jurgen  skulked  under 
their  windows. 

Ke  remembered  how  incuriously — not  even  scornfully 
— these  people  had  overlooked  him  on  that  disastrous 
afternoon  when  he  had  ventured  into  Pseudopolis  by 
daylight.  And  a  spiteful  little  gust  of  rage  possessed  him, 
and  Jurgen  shook  his  fist  at  the  big  silent  palaces. 

"Yah!"  he  snarled:  for  he  did  not  know  at  all  what  it 
was  that  he  desired  to  say  to  those  great  stupid  heroes 
who  did  not  care  what  he  said,  but  he  knew  that  he  hated 
them.  Then  Jurgen  became  aware  of  himself  growling 
there  like  a  kicked  cur  who  is  afraid  to  bite,  and  he  began 
to  laugh  at  this  Jurgen. 

"Your  pardon,  gentlemen  of  Greece,"  says  he,  with 
a  wide  ceremonious  bow,  "and  I  think  the  information  I 
wished  to  convey  was  that  I  am  a  monstrous  clever 
fellow." 

Jurgen  went  into  the  largest  palace,  and  crept  stealthily 
by  the  bedroom  of  Achilles,  King  of  Men,  treading  a-tip- 
toe;  and  so  came  at  last  into  a  little  room  panelled  with 
cedar-wood  where  slept  Queen  Helen.  She  was  smiling 
in  her  sleep  when  he  had  lighted  his  lamp,  with  due 
observance  of  the  gray  magic.  She  was  infinitely  beauti 
ful,  this  young  Dorothy  whom  people  hereabouts  through 
some  odd  error  called  Helen. 

For  Jurgen  saw  very  well  that  this  was  Count  Em- 
merick's  sister  Dorothy  la  Desiree,  whom  Jurgen  had 
vainly  loved  in  the  days  when  Jurgen  was  young  alike  in 
body  and  heart.  Just  once  he  had  won  back  to  her,  in 
the  garden  between  dawn  and  sunrise:  but  he  was  then 
a  time-battered  burgher  whom  Dorothy  did  not  recog- 


226  JURGEN 


nise.  Now  he  returned  to  her  a  king,  less  admirable  it 
might  be  than  some  of  the  many  other  kings  without 
realms  who  slept  now  in  Pseudopolis,  but  still  very  fine 
in  his  borrowed  youth,  and  above  all,  armored  by  a  gray 
magic :  so  that  improbabilities  were  possible.  And  Jurgen's 
eyes  were  furtive,  and  he  passed  his  tongue  across  his 
upper  lip  from  one  corner  to  the  other,  and  his  hand 
went  out  toward  the  robe  of  violet-colored  wool  which 
covered  the  sleeping  girl,  for  he  stood  ready  to  awaken 
Dorothy  la  Desiree  in  the  way  he  often  awoke  Chloris. 

But  a  queer  thought  held  him.  Nothing,  he  recollected, 
had  shown  the  power  to  hurt  him  very  deeply  since  he 
had  lost  this  young  Dorothy.  And  to  affairs  which 
threatened  to  result  unpleasantly,  he  had  always  managed 
to  impart  an  agreeable  turn,  since  then,  by  virtue  of  pre 
serving  a  cool  heart.  What  if  by  some  misfortune  he 
were  to  get  back  his  real  youth?  and  were  to  become 
again  the  flustered  boy  who  blundered  from  stammering 
rapture  to  wild  misery,  and  back  again,  at  the  least  word 
or  gesture  of  a  gold-haired  girl? 

"Thank  you,  no!"  says  Jurgen.  "The  boy  was  more 
admirable  than  I,  who  am  by  way  of  being  not  wholly 
admirable.  But  then  he  had  a  wretched  time  of  it,  by 
and  large.  Thus  it  may  be  that  my  real  3^outh  lies  sleep 
ing  here :  and  for  no  consideration  would  I  re-awaken  it." 

And  yet  tears  came  into  his  eyes,  for  no  reason  at  all. 
And  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  sleeping  woman,  here  at 
his  disposal,  was  not  the  young  Dorothy  whom  he  had 
seen  in  the  garden  between  dawn  and  sunrise,  although 
the  two  were  curiously  alike;  and  that  of  the  two  this 
woman  here  was,  somehow,  infinitely  the  lovelier. 


ECONOMICS  OF  KING  JURGEN  227 


"Lady,  if  you  indeed  be  the  Swan's  daughter,  long  and 
long  ago  there  was  a  child  that  was  ill.  And  his  illness 
turned  to  a  fever,  and  in  his  fever  he  arose  from  his  bed 
one  night,  saying  that  he  must  set  out  for  Troy,  because 
of  his  love  for  Queen  Helen.  I  was  once  that  child.  I 
remember  how  strange  it  seemed  to  me  I  should  be  talking 
such  nonsense :  I  remember  how  the  warm  room  smelt 
of  drugs :  and  I  remember  how  I  pitied  the  trouble  in  my 
nurse's  face,  drawn  and  old  in  the  yellow  lamplight.  For 
she  loved  me,  and  she  did  not  understand:  and  she 
pleaded  with  me  to  be  a  good  boy  and  not  to  worry  my 
sleeping  parents.  But  I  perceive  now  that  I  was  not 
talking  nonsense." 

He  paused,  considering  the  riddle :  and  his  fingers 
fretted  with  the  robe  of  violet-colored  wool  beneath 
which  lay  Queen  Helen. 

"Yours  is  that  beauty  of  which  men  know  by  fabulous 
report  alone,  and  which  they  may  not  ever  find,  nor  ever 
win  to,  quite.  And  for  that  beauty  I  have  hungered 
always,  even  in  childhood.  Toward  that  beauty  I  have 
struggled  always,  but  not  quite  whole-heartedly.  That 
night  forecast  my  life.  I  have  hungered  for  you:  and" 
— Jurgen  smiled  here — "and  I  have  always  stayed  a 
passably  good  boy,  lest  I  should  beyond  reason  disturb 
my  family.  For  to  do  that,  I  thought,  would  not  be  fair : 
and  still  I  believe  for  me  to  have  done  that  would  have 
been  unfair." 

He  grimaced  at  this  point :  for  Jurgen  was  finding  his 
scruples  inconveniently  numerous. 

"And  now  I  think  that  what  I  do  to-night  is  not  quite 
fair  to  Chloris.  And  I  do  not  know  what  thing  it  is  that 
I  desire,  and  the  will  of  Jurgen  is  a  feather  in  the  wind. 


228  JURGEN 


But  I  know  that  I  would  like  to  love  somebody  as  Chloris 
loves  me,  and  as  so  many  women  have  loved  me.  And 
I  know  that  it  is  you  who  have  prevented  this,  Queen 
Helen,  at  every  moment  of  my  life  since  the  disastrous 
moment  when  I  first  seemed  to  find  your  loveliness  in  the 
face  of  Madame  Dorothy.  It  is  the  memory  of  your 
beauty,  as  I  then  saw  it  mirrored  in  the  face  of  a  Jill- 
flirt,  which  has  enfeebled  me  for  such  honest  love  as 
other  men  give  women:  and  I  envy  these  other  men. 
For  Jurgen  has  loved  nothing — not  even  you,  not  even 
Jurgen! — quite  whole-heartedly.  Well,  what  if  I  took 
vengeance  now  upon  this  thieving  comeliness,  upon  this 
robber  that  strips  life  of  joy  and  sorrow?" 

Jurgen  stood  at  Queen  Helen's  bedside,  watching  her, 
for  a  long  while.  He  had  shifted  into  a  less  fanciful 
mood :  and  the  shadow  that  followed  him  was  ugly  and 
hulking  and  wavering  upon  the  cedarn  wall  of  Queen 
Helen's  sleeping-chamber. 

"Mine  is  a  magic  which  does  not  fail,"  old  Phobetor 
had  said,  while  his  attendants  raised  his  eyelids  so  that  he 
could  see  King  Jurgen. 

Now  Jurgen  remembered  this.  And  reflectively  he 
drew  back  the  robe  of  violet-colored  wool,  a  little  way. 
The  breast  of  Queen  Helen  lay  bare.  And  she  did  not 
move  at  all,  but  she  smiled  in  her  sleep. 

Never  had  Jurgen  imagined  that  any  woman  could  be 
so  beautiful  nor  so  desirable  as  this  woman,  or  that  he 
could  ever  know  such  rapture.  So  Jurgen  paused. 

"Because,"  said  Jurgen  now,  "it  may  be  this  woman 
has  some  fault :  it  may  be  there  is  some  fleck  in  her  beauty 
somewhere.  And  sooner  than  know  that,  I  would  prefer 
to  retain  my  unreasonable  dreams,  and  this  longing  which 


ECONOMICS  OF  KING  JURGEN  22% 


is  unfed  and  hopeless,  and  the  memory  of  to-night.  Be 
sides,  if  she  were  perfect  in  everything,  how  could  I  live 
any  longer,  who  would  have  no  more  to  desire?  No, 
I  would  be  betraying  my  own  interests,  either  way;  and 
injustice  is  always  despicable." 

So  Jurgen  sighed  and  gently  replaced  the  robe  of 
violet-colored  wool,  and  he  returned  to  his  Hamadryad. 

"And  now  that  I  think  of  it,  too,"  reflected  Jurgen, 
"I  am  behaving  rather  nobly.  Yes,  it  is  questionless  that 
I  have  to-night  evinced  a  certain  delicacy  of  feeling  which 
merits  appreciation,  at  all  events  by  King  Achilles.." 


31. 

The  Fall  of  Pseudopolis 


SO  Jurgen  abode  in  Leuke,  and  complied  with  the 
customs  of  that  country;  and  what  with  one  thing 
and  another,  he  and  Chloris  made  the  time  pass 
pleasantly  enough,  until  the  winter  solstice  was  at  hand. 
Now  Pseudopolis,  as  has  been  said,  was  at  war  with 
Philistia:  so  it  befell  that  at  this  season  Leuke  was 
invaded  by  an  army  of  Philistines,  led  by  their  Queen 
Dolores,  a  woman  who  was  wise  but  not  entirely  reliable. 
They  came  from  the  coast,  a  terrible  army  insanely  clad 
in  such  garments  as  had  been  commanded  by  Ageus,  a 
god  of  theirs;  and  chaunting  psalms  in  honor  of  their 
god  Vel-Tyno,  who  had  inspired  this  crusade :  thus  they 
swept  down  upon  Pseudopolis,  and  encamped  before  the 
city. 

These  Philistines  fought  in  this  campaign  by  casting 
before  them  a  more  horrible  form  of  Greek  fire,  which 
consumed  whatever  was  not  gray-colored.  For  that  color 
alone  was  now  favored  by  their  god  Vel-Tyno.  "And  all 
other  colors,"  his  oracles  had  decreed,  "are  forevermore 
abominable,  until  I  say  otherwise." 

So  the  forces  of  Philistia  were  marshalled  in  the  plain 
before  Pseudopolis,  and  Queen  Dolores  spoke  to  her 
troops.  And  smilingly  she  said : — 

"Whenever  you  come  to  blows  with  the  enemy  he  will 

230 


THE  FALL  OF  PSEUDOPOLIS  231 


be  beaten.  No  mercy  will  be  shown,  no  prisoners  taken. 
As  the  Philistines  under  Libnah  and  Goliath  and  Gershon, 
and  a  many  other  tall  captains,  made  for  themselves  a 
name  which  is  still  mighty  in  traditions  and  legend,  even 
thus  to-day  may  the  name  of  Realist  be  so  fixed  in 
Pseudopolis,  by  your  deeds  to-day,  that  no  one  shall  ever 
dare  again  even  to  look  askance  at  a  Philistine.  Open 
the  door  for  Realism,  once  for  all !" 

Meanwhile  within  the  city  Achilles,  King  of  Men, 
addressed  his  army : — 

"The  eyes  of  all  the  world  will  be  upon  you,  because 
you  are  in  some  especial  sense  the  soldiers  of  Romance. 
Let  it  be  your  pride,  therefore,  to  show  all  men  every 
where,  not  only  what  good  soldiers  you  are,  but  also 
what  good  men  you  are,  keeping  yourselves  fit  and 
straight  in  everything,  and  pure  and  clean  through  and 
through.  Let  us  set  ourselves  a  standard  so  high  that 
it  will  be  a  glory  to  live  up  to  it,  and  then  let  us  live 
up  to  it,  and  add  a  new  laurel  to  the  crown  of  Pseudopolis. 
May  the  Gods  of  Old  keep  you  and  guide  you !" 

Then  said  Thersites,  in  his  beard:  "Certainly  Pelides 
has  learned  from  history  with  what  weapon  a  strong  man 
discomfits  the  Philistines." 

But  the  other  kings  applauded,  and  the  trumpet  was 
sounded,  and  the  battle  was  joined.  And  that  day  the 
forces  of  Philistia  were  everywhere  triumphant.  But 
they  report  a  queer  thing  happened :  and  it  was  that  when 
the  Philistines  shouted  in  their  triumph,  Achilles  and  all 
they  who  served  him  rose  from  the  ground  like  gleaming 
clouds  and  passed  above  the  heads  of  the  Philistines,  de 
riding  them. 

Thus  was  Pseudopolis  left  empty,  so  that  the  Philistines 


232  JURGEN 


entered  thereinto  without  any  opposition.  They  denied 
this  city  of  blasphemous  colors,  then  burned  it  as  a  sacri 
fice  to  their  god  Vel-Tyno,  because  the  color  of  ashes  is 
gray. 

Then  the  Philistines  erected  lithoi  (which  were  not 
unlike  may-poles),  and  began  to  celebrate  their  religious 

rites. 

*     *     * 

So  it  was  reported:  but  Jurgen  witnessed  none  of  these 
events. 

"Let  them  fight  it  out,"  said  Jurgen:  "it  is  not  my 
affair.  I  agree  with  Silenus:  dullness  will  conquer  dull 
ness,  and  it  will  not  matter.  But  do  you,  woman  dear, 
take  shelter  with  your  kindred  in  the  unconquerable 
Woods,  for  there  is  no  telling  what  damage  the  Philis 
tines  may  do  hereabouts." 

"Will  you  go  with  me,  Jurgen?" 

"My  dear,  you  know  very  well  that  it  is  impossible 
for  me  ever  again  to  go  into  the  Woods,  after  the  trick 
I  played  upon  Phobetor." 

"And  if  only  you  had  kept  your  head  about  that  bean 
pole  of  a  Helen,  in  her  yellew  wig — for  I  have  not  a 
doubt  that  every  strand  of  it  is  false,  and  at  all  events 
this  is  not  a  time  to  be  arguing  about  it,  Jurgen, — why, 
then  you  would  never  have  meddled  with  Uncle  Phobetor ! 
It  simply  shows  you !" 

"Yes,"  said  Jurgen. 

"Still,  I  do  not  know.  If  you  come  with  me  into  the 
Woods,  Uncle  Phobetor  in  his  impetuous  way  will  quite 
certainly  turn  you  into  a  boar-pig,  because  he  has  always 
clone  that  to  the  people  who  irritated  him — " 

"I  seem  to  recognise  that  reason." 


THE  FALL  OF  PSEUDOPOLIS  233 


" — But  give  me  time,  and  I  can  get  around  Uncle  Pho- 
betor,  just  as  I  have  always  done,  and  he  will  turn  you 
back." 

"No,"  says  Jurgen,  obstinately,  "I  do  not  wish  to  be 
turned  into  a  boar-pig." 

"Now,  Jurgen,  let  us  be  sensible  about  this !  Of  course, 
it  is  a  little  humiliating.  But  I  will  take  the  very  best  of 
care  of  you,  and  feed  you  with  my  own  acorns,  and  it 
will  be  a  purely  temporary  arrangement.  And  to  be  a 
pig  for  a  week  or  two,  or  even  for  a  month,  is  infinitely 
better  for  a  poet  than  being  captured  by  the  Philistines." 

"How  do  I  know  that?"    says  Jurgen. 

" — For  it  is  not,  after  all,  as  if  Uncle  Phobetor's  heart 
were  not  in  the  right  place.  It  is  just  his  way.  And 
besides,  you  must  remember  what  you  did  with  that 
gimlet!" 

Said  Jurgen :  "All  this  is  hardly  to  the  purpose.  You 
forget  I  have  seen  the  hapless  swine  of  Phobetor,  and  I 
know  how  he  ameliorates  the  natural  ferocity  of  his 
boar-pigs.  No,  I  am  Jurgen.  So  I  remain.  I  will  face 
the  Philistines  and  whatever  they  may  possibly  do  to  me, 
rather  than  suffer  that  which  Phobetor  will  quite  cer 
tainly  do  to  me." 

"Then  I  stay  too,"  said  Chloris. 

"No,  woman  dear — !" 

"But  do  you  not  understand?"  says  Chloris,  a  little  pale, 
as  he  saw  now.  "Since  the  life  of  a  hamadryad  is  linked 
with  the  life  of  her  tree,  nobody  can  harm  me  so  long  as 
my  tree  lives:  and  if  they  cut  down  my  tree  I  shall  die* 
wherever  I  may  happen  to  be." 

"I  had  forgotten  that."    He  was  really  troubled  now. 

" — And  you  can  see  for  yourself,  Jurgen,  it  is  quite 


234  JURGEN 


out  of  the  question  for  me  to  be  carrying  that  great  oak 
anywhere,  and  I  wonder  at  your  talking  such  nonsense." 

"Indeed,  my  dear,"  says  Jurgen,  "  we  are  very  neatly 
trapped.  Well,  nobody  can  live  longer  in  peace  than  his 
neighbor  chooses.  Nevertheless,  it  is  not  fair." 

As  he  spoke  the  Philistines  came  forth  from  the  burn 
ing  city.  Again  the  trumpet  sounded,  and  the  Philistines 
advanced  in  their  order  of  battle. 


32. 

Sundry  Devices  of  the  Philistines 


MEANWHILE  the  People  of  the  Field  had 
watched  Pseudopolis  burn,  and  had  wondered 
what  would  befall  them.  They  had  not  long  to 
wonder,  for  next  day  the  Fields  were  occupied,  without 
any  resistance  by  the  inhabitants. 

"The  People  of  the  Field,"  said  they,  "have  never 
fought,  and  for  them  to  begin  now  would  be  a  very 
unheard-of  thing  indeed." 

So  the  Fields  were  captured  by  the  Philistines,  and 
Chloris  and  Jurgen  and  all  the  People  of  the  Field  were 
judged  summarily.  They  were  declared  to  be  obsolete 
illusions,  whose  merited  doom  was  to  be  relegated  to 
limbo.  To  Jurgen  this  appeared  unreasonable. 

"For  I  am  no  illusion/'  he  asserted.  "I  am  manifestly 
flesh  and  blood,  and  in  addition,  I  am  the  high  King  of 
Eubonia,  and  no  less.  Why,  in  disputing  these  facts  you 
contest  circumstances  that  are  so  well  known  hereabouts 
as  to  rank  among  mathematical  certainties.  And  that 
makes  you  look  foolish,  as  I  tell  you  for  your  own  good." 

This  vexed  the  leaders  of  the  Philistines,  as  it  always 
vexes  people  to  be  told  anything  for  their  own  good. 
"We  would  have  you  know,"  said  they,  "that  we  are  not 
mathematicians;  and  that  moreover,  we  have  no  kings 

235 


236  JURGEN 


in  Philistia,  where  all  must  do  what  seems  to  be  expected 
of  them,  and  have  no  other  law." 

''How  then  can  you  be  the  leaders  of  Philistia?" 

"Why,  it  is  expected  that  women  and  priests  should 
behave  unaccountably.  Therefore  all  we  who  are  women 
or  priests  do  what  we  will  in  Philistia,  and  the  men  there 
obey  us.  And  it  is  we,  the  priests  of  Philistia,  who  do 
not  think  you  can  possibly  have  any  flesh  and  blood  under 
a  shirt 'which  we  recognize  to  be  a  conventional  figure  of 
speech.  It  does  not  stand  to  reason.  And  certainly  you 
could  not  ever  prove  such  a  thing  by  mathematics ;  and 
to  say  so  is  nonsense.*' 

"But  I  can  prove  it  by  mathematics,  quite  irrefutably. 
I  can  prove  anything  you  require  of  me  by  whatever 
means  you  may  prefer,"  said  Jurgen,  modestly,  "for  the 
simple  reason  that  I  am  a  monstrous  clever  fellow." 

Then  spoke  the  wise  Queen  Dolores,  saying:  "I  have 
studied  mathematics.  I  will  question  this  young  man,  in 
my  tent  to-night,  and  in  the  morning  I  will  report  the 
truth  as  to  his  claims.  Are  you  content  to  endure  this 
interrogatory,  my  spruce  young  fellow  who  wear  the 
shirt  of  a  king?** 

Jurgen  looked  full  upon  her :  she  was  lovely  as  a  hawk 
is  lovely:  and  of  all  that  Jurgen  saw  Jurgen  approved. 
He  assumed  the  rest  to  be  in  keeping :  and  deduced  that 
Dolores  was  a  fine  woman. 

"Madame  and  Queen/'  said  Jurgen,  "I  am  content. 
And  I  can  promise  to  deal  fairly  with  you." 

So  that  evening  Jurgen  was  conducted  into  the  purple 
tont  of  Queen  Dolores  of  Philistia.  It  was  quite  dark 
there,  and  Jurgen  went  in  alone,  and  wondering  what 
would  happen  next:  but  this  scented  darkness  he  found 


SUNDRY  DEVICES  OF  THE  PHILISTINES        237 


of  excellent  augury,  if  only  because  it  prevented  his 
shadow  from  following  him. 

"Now,  you  who  claim  to  be  flesh  and  blood,  and  King 
of  Eubonia,  too,"  says  the  voice  of  Queen  Dolores,  "what 
is  this  nonsense  you  were  talking  about  proving  any  such 
claims  by  mathematics?" 

"Well,  but  my  mathematics,"  replied  Jurgen,  "are 
Praxagorean." 

"What,  do  you  mean  Praxagoras  of  Cos  ?" 

"As  if,"  scoffed  Jurgen,  "anybody  had  ever  heard  of 
any  other  Praxagoras!" 

"But  he,  as  I  recall,  belonged  to  the  medical  school  of 
the  Dogmatici,"  observed  the  wise  Queen  Dolores,  "and 
was  particularly  celebrated  for  his  researches  in  anatomy. 
Was  he,  then,  also  a  mathematician  ?" 

"The  two  are  not  incongruous,  madame,  as  I  would  be 
delighted  to  demonstrate." 

"Oh,  nobody  said  that!  For,  indeed,  it  does  seem  to 
me  I  have  heard  of  this  Praxagorean  system  of  mathe 
matics,  though,  I  confess,  I  have  never  studied  it." 

"Our  school,  madame,  postulates,  first  of  all,  that  since 
the  science  of  mathematics  is  an  abstract  science,  it  is 
best  inculcated  by  some  concrete  example." 

Said  the  Queen:  "But  that  sounds  rather  compli 
cated." 

"It  occasionally  leads  to  complications,"  Jurgen  ad 
mitted,  "through  a  choice  of  the  wrong  example.  But  the 
axiom  is  no  less  true." 

"Come,  then,  and  sit  next  to  me  on  this  couch  if  you 
can  find  it  in  the  dark;  and  do  you  explain  to  me  what 
you  mean." 

"Why,  madame,  by  a  concrete  example  I  mean  one  that 


238  JURGEN 


is  perceptible  to  any  of  the  senses — as  to  sight  or  hearing, 
or  touch — " 

"Oh,  oh!"  said  the  Queen,  "now  I  perceive  what  you 
mean  by  a  concrete  example.  And  grasping  this,  I  can 
understand  that  complications  must  of  course  arise  from 
a  choice  of  the  wrong  example." 

"Well,  then,  madame,  it  is  first  necessary  to  implant  in 
you,  by  the  force  of  example,  a  lively  sense  of  the  peculiar 
character,  and  virtues  and  properties,  of  each  of  the 
numbers  upon  which  is  based  the  whole  science  of  Praxa- 
gorean  mathematics.  For  in  order  to  convince  you  thor 
oughly,  we  must  start  far  down,  at  the  beginning  of  all 
things." 

"I  see,"  said  the  Queen,  "or  rather,  in  this  darkness  1 
cannot  see  at  all,  but  I  perceive  your  point.  Your  open 
ing  interests  me :  and  you  may  go  on." 

"Now  ONE,  or  the  monad,"  says  Jurgen,  "is  the  prin 
ciple  and  the  end  of  all :  it  reveals  the  sublime  knot  which 
binds  together  the  chain  of  causes:  it  is  the  symbol  of 
identity,  of  equality,  of  existence,  of  conservation,  and  of 
general  harmony."  And  Jurgen  emphasized  these  char 
acteristics  vigorously.  "In  brief,  ONE  is  a  symbol  of 
the  union  of  things :  it  introduces  that  generating  virtue 
which  is  the  cause  of  all  combinations :  and  consequently 
ONE  is  a  good  principle." 

"Ah,  ah!"  said  Queen  Dolores,  "I  heartily  admire  a 
good  principle.  But  what  has  become  of  your  concrete 
example  ?" 

"It  is  ready  for  you,  madame :  there  is  but  ONE 
Jurgen." 

"Oh,  I  assure  you,  I  am  not  yet  convinced  of  that. 
Still,  the  audacity  of  your  example  will  help  me  to  re- 


SUNDRY  DEVICES  OF  THE  PHILISTINES        239 


member  ONE,  whether  or  not  you  prove  to  be  really 
unique." 

"Now,  Two,  or  the  dyad,  the  origin  of  contrasts — " 

Jurgen  went  on  penetratingly  to  demonstrate  that  Two 
was  a  symbol  of  diversity  and  of  restlessness  and  of  dis 
order,  ending  in  collapse  and  separation :  and  was  accord 
ingly  an  evil  principle.  Thus  was  the  life  of  every  man 
made  wretched  by  the  struggle  between  his  Two  com 
ponents,  his  soul  and  his  body ;  and  thus  was  the  rapture 
of  expectant  parents  considerably  abated  by  the  advent 
of  TWINS. 

THREE,  or  the  triad,  however,  since  everything  was 
composed  of  three  substances,  contained  the  most  sub 
lime  mysteries,  which  Jurgen  duly  communicated.  We 
must  remember,  he  pointed  out,  that  Zeus  carried  a 
TRIPLE  thunderbolt,  and  Poseidon  a  TRIDENT,  whereas 
Ades  was  guarded  by  a  dog  with  THREE  heads:  this  in 
addition  to  the  omnipotent  brothers  themselves  being  a 
TRIO. 

Thus  Jurgen  continued  to  impart  the  Praxagorean 
significance  of  each  digit  separately:  and  by  and  by  the 
Queen  was  declaring  his  flow  of  wisdom  was  superhuman. 

"Ah,  but,  madame,  not  even  the  wisdom  of  a  king  is 
\vithout  limit.  EIGHT,  I  repeat,  then,  is  appropriately  the 
number  of  the  Beatitudes.  And  NINE,  or  die  ennead, 
also,  being  the  multiple  of  THREE,  should  be  regarded  as 
sacred — " 

The  Queen  attended  docilely  to  his  demonstration  of 
the  peculiar  properties  of  NINE.  And  when  he  had  ended 
she  confessed  that  beyond  doubt  NINE  should  be  regarded 
as  miraculous.  But  she  repudiated  his  analogues  as  to 


240  JURGEN 


the  muses,  the  lives  of  a  cat,  and  how  many  tailors  made 
a  man. 

"Rather,  I  shall  remember  always,"  she  declared,  "that 
King  Jurgen  of  Eubonia  is  a  NINE  days'  wonder/' 

"Well,  madame,"  said  Jurgen,  with  a  sigh,  "now  that 
we  have  reached  NINE,  I  regret  to  say  we  have  exhausted 
the  digits." 

"Oh,  what  a  pity!"  cried  Queen  Dolores.  "Neverthe 
less,  I  will  concede  the  only  illustration  I  disputed ;  there 
is  but  ONE  Jurgen:  and  certainly  this  Praxagorean  sys 
tem  of  mathematics  is  a  fascinating  study."  And  prompt 
ly  she  commenced  to  plan  Jurgen's  return  with  her  into 
Philistia,  so  that  she  might  perfect  herself  in  the  higher 
branches  of  mathematics.  "For  you  must  teach  me  cal 
culus  and  geometry  and  all  other  sciences  in  which  these 
digits  are  employed.  We  can  arrange  some  compromise 
with  the  priests.  That  is  always  possible  with  the  priests 
of  Philistia,  and  indeed  the  priests  of  Sesphra  can  be 
made  to  help  anybody  in  anything.  And  as  for  your 
Hamadryad,  I  will  attend  to  her  myself." 

"But,  no,"  says  Jurgen,  "  I  am  ready  enough  in  all 
conscience  to  compromise  elsewhere:  but  to  compound 
with  the  forces  of  Philistia  is  the  one  thing  I  cannot  do." 

"Do  you  mean  that,  King  Jurgen?"  The  Queen  was 
astounded. 

"I  mean  it,  my  dear,  as  I  mean  nothing  else.  You  are 
in  many  ways  an  admirable  people,  and  you  are  in  all 
ways  a  formidable  people.  So  I  admire,  I  dread,  I  avoid, 
and  at  the  very  last  pinch  I  defy.  For  you  are  not  my 
people,  and  willy-nilly  my  gorge  rises  against  your  laws, 
as  equally  insane  and  abhorrent.  Mind  you,  though,  I 
assert  nothing.  You  may  be  right  in  attributing  wisdom 


SUNDRY  DEVICES  OF  THE  PHILISTINES        241 


to  these  laws ;  and  certainly  I  cannot  go  so  far  as  to  say 
you  are  wrong:  but  still,  at  the  same  time — !  That  is 
the  way  I  feel  about  it.  So  I,  who  compromise  with 
everything  else,  can  make  no  compromise  with  Philistia. 
No,  my  adored  Dolores,  it  is  not  a  virtue,  rather  it  is  an 
instinct  with  me,  and  I  have  no  choice." 

Even  Dolores,  who  was  Queen  of  all  the  Philistines, 
could  perceive  that  this  man  spoke  truthfully. 

"I  am  sorry,"  says  she,  with  real  regret,  "for  you 
could  be  much  run  after  in  Philistia." 

"Yes,"  said  Jurgen,  "as  an  instructor  in  mathematics." 

"But,  no,  King  Jurgen,  not  only  in  mathematics,"  said 
Dolores,  reasonably.  "There  is  poetry,  for  instance !  For 
they  tell  me  you  are  a  poet,  and  a  great  many  of  my 
people  take  poetry  quite  seriously,  I  believe.  Of  course, 
I  do  not  have  much  time  for  reading,  myself.  So  you 
can  be  the  Poet  Laureate  of  Philistia,  on  any  salary  you 
like.  And  you  can  teach  us  all  your  ideas  by  writing 
beautiful  poems  about  them.  And  you  and  I  can  be 
very  happy  together." 

"Teach,  teach!  there  speaks  Philistia,  and  very  temp 
tingly,  too,  through  an  adorable  mouth,  that  would  bribe 
me  with  praise  and  fine  food  and  soft  days  forever.  It 
is  a  thing  that  happens  rather  often,  though.  And  I  can 
but  repeat  that  art  is  not  a  branch  of  pedagogy !" 

"Really  I  am  heartily  sorry.  For  apart  from  mathe 
matics,  I  like  you,  King  Jurgen,  just  as  a  person." 

"I,  too,  am  sorry,  Dolores.  For  I  confess  to  a  weakness 
for  the  women  of  Philistia." 

"Certainly  you  have  given  me  no  cause  to  suspect  you 
of  any  weakness  in  that  quarter,"  observed  Dolores,  "in 
the  long  while  you  have  been  alone  with  me,  and  have 


242  JURGEN 


talked  so  wisely  and  have  reasoned  so  deeply.  I  am 
afraid  that  after  to-night  I  shall  find  all  other  men  more 
or  less  superficial.  Heigho!  and  I  shall  probably  weep 
my  eyes  out  to-morrow  when  you  are  relegated  to  limbo. 
For  that  is  what  the  priests  will  do  with  you,  King 
Jurgen,  on  one  plea  or  another,  if  you  do  not  conform 
to  the  laws  of  Philistia." 

"And  that  one  compromise  I  cannot  make  I  Ah,  but 
even  now  I  have  a  plan  wherewith  to  escape  your  priests : 
and  failing  that,  I  possess  a  cantrap  to  fall  back  upon  in 
my  hour  of  direst  need.  My  private  affairs  are  thus  not 
yet  in  a  hopeless  or  even  in  a  dejected  condition.  This 
fact  now  urges  me  to  observe  that  TEN,  or  the  decade, 
is  the  measure  of  all,  since  it  contains  all  the  numeric 
relations  and  harmonies — " 

So  they  continued  their  study  of  mathematics  until  it 
was  time  for  Jurgen  to  appear  again  before  his  judges. 
And  in  the  morning  Queen  Dolores  sent  word  to  her 
priests  that  she  was  too  sleepy  to  attend  their  council,  but 
that  the  man  was  indisputably  flesh  and  blood,  amply  de 
served  to  be  a  king,  and  as  a  mathematician  had  not  his 
peer. 

Now  these  points  being  settled,  the  judges  conferred, 
and  Jurgen  was  decreed  a  backslider  into  the  ways  of  un 
desirable  error.  His  judges  were  the  priests  of  Vel- 
Tyno  and  Sesphra  and  Ageus,  who  are  the  Gods  of 
Philistia. 

Then  the  priest  of  Ageus  put  on  his  spectacles  and 
consulted  the  canonical  law,  and  declared  that  this  change 
in  the  indictment  necessitated  a  severance  of  Jurgen  from 
the  others,  in  the  infliction  of  punishment. 

"For  each,  of  course,  must  be  relegated  to  the  limbo 


SUNDRY  DEVICES  OF  THE  PHILISTINES        243 


of  his  fathers,  as  was  foretold,  in  order  that  the 
prophecies  may  be  fulfilled.  Religion  languishes  when 
prophecies  are  not  fulfilled.  Now  it  appears  that  the 
forefathers  of  the  flesh  and  blood  prisoner  were  of  a 
different  faith  from  the  progenitors  of  these  obsolete 
illusions,  and  that  his  fathers  foretold  quite  different 
things,  and  that  their  limbo  was  called  Hell." 

"It  is  little  you  know/'  says  Jurgen,  "  of  the  religion 
of  Eubonia." 

"We  have  it  written  down  in  this  great  book,"  the 
priest  of  Vel-Tyno  then  told  him, — "every  word  of  it 
without  blot  or  error." 

"Then  you  will  see  that  the  King  of  Eubonia  is  the 
head  of  the  church  there,  and  changes  all  the  prophecies 
at  will.  Learned  Gowlais  says  so  directly:  and  the 
judicious  Stevegonius  was  forced  to  agree  with  him, 
however  unwillingly,  as  you  will  instantly  discover  by 
consulting  the  third  section  of  his  widely  famous  nine 
teenth  chapter." 

"Both  Gowlais  and  Stevegonius  were  probably  noto 
rious  heretics,"  says  the  priest  of  Ageus.  "I  believe  that 
was  settled  once  for  all  at  the  Diet  of  Orthumar." 

"Eh !"  says  Jurgen.  He  did  not  like  this  priest.  "Now 
I  will  wager,  sirs,"  Jurgen  continued,  a  trifle  patroniz 
ingly,  "that  you  gentlemen  have  not  read  Gowlais,  or  even 
Stevegonius,  in  the  light  of  Vossler's  commentaries.  And 
that  is  why  you  underrate  them." 

"I  at  least  have  read  every  word  that  was  ever  written 
by  any  of  these  three,"  replied  the  priest  of  Sesphra— 
"and  with,  as  I  need  hardly  say,  the  liveliest  abhorrence. 
And  this  Gowlais  in  particular,  as  I  hasten  to  agree  with 
my  learned  confrere,  is  a  most  notorious  heretic — " 


244  JURGEN 


"Oh,  sir,"  said  Jurgen,  horrified,  "whatever  are  you 
telling  me  about  Gowlais !" 

"I  tell  you  that  I  have  been  roused  to  indignation  by 
his  Historic,  de  Bello  Veneris — " 

"You  surprise  me :  still — " 

" — Shocked  by  his  Pornoboscodidascolo — " 

"I  can  hardly  believe  it :  even  so,  you  must  grant — " 

" — And  horrified  by  his  Liber  de  immortalitate  Men- 
tula—" 

"Well,  conceding  you  that  earlier  work,  sir,  yet,  at  the 
same  time — " 

" — And  have  been  disgusted  by  his  De  niodo  coe- 
undir-" 

"Ah,  but,  none  the  less—" 

" — And  have  shuddered  over  the  unspeakable  enorm 
ities  of  his  Erotopccgnion!  of  his  Cincedica!  and  especially 
of  his  Rpipedesis,  that  most  pestilential  and  abominable 
book,  quern  sine  horrore  nemo  potest  leg  ere — " 

"Still,  you  cannot  deny — " 

" — And  have  read  also  all  the  confutations  of  this  de 
testable  Gowlais:  as  those  of  Zanchius,  Faventinus,  Le- 
lius  Vincentius,  Lagalla,  Thomas  Giaminus,  and  eight 
other  admirable  commentators — " 

"You  are  very  exact,  sir :  but — " 

" — And  that,  in  short,  I  have  read  every  book  yen 
can  imagine/'  says  the  priest  of  Sesphra. 

The  shoulders  of  Jurgen  rose  to  his  ears,  and  Jurgen 
silently  flung  out  his  hands,  palms  upward. 

"For,  I  perceive,"  says  Jurgen,  to  himself,  "that  this 
Realist  is  too  circumstantial  for  me.  None  the  less,  he 
invents  his  facts:  it  is  by  citing  books  which  never  existed 
that  he  publicly  confutes  the  Gowlais  whom  I  invented 


SUNDRY  DEVICES  OF  THE  PHILISTINES        245 


privately :  and  that  is  not  fair.  Now  there  remains  only 
one  chance  for  Jurgen;  but  luckily  that  chance  is  sure." 

"Why  are  you  fumbling  in  your  pocket  ?"  asks  the  old 
priest  of  Ageus,  fidgeting  and  peering. 

"Aha,  you  may  well  ask !"  cried  Jurgen.  He  unfolded 
the  cantrap  which  had  been  given  him  by  the  Master 
Philologist,  and  which  Jurgen  had  treasured  against  the 
time  when  more  was  needed  than  a  glib  tongue.  "O 
most  unrighteous  judges,"  says  Jurgen,  scernly,  "now 
hear  and  tremble!  'At  the  death  of  Adrian  the  Fifth, 
Pedro  Juliani,  who  should  be  named  John  the  Twentieth, 
was  through  an  error  in  the  reckoning  elevated  to  the 
papal  chair  as  John  the  Twenty-first  P  " 

"Hah,  and  what  have  we  to  do  with  that?"  inquired  the 
priest  of  Vel-Tyno,  with  raised  eyebrows.  "Why  are  you 
telling  us  of  these  irrelevant  matters  ?" 

"Because  I  thought  it  would  interest  you,"  said  Jur 
gen.  "It  was  a  fact  that  appeared  to  me  rather  amusing. 
So  I  thought  I  would  mention  it." 

"Then  you  have  very  queer  ideas  of  amusement,"  they 
told  him.  And  Jurgen  perceived  that  either  he  had  not 
employed  his  cantrap  correctly  or  else  that  its  rnagic  was 
unappreciated  by  the  leaders  of  Philistia. 


33. 

Farewell  to  Ghloris 


NOW  the  Philistines  led  out  their  prisoners,  and 
made  ready  to  inflict  the  doom  which  was  decreed. 
And  they  permitted  the  young  King  of  Eubonia 
to  speak  with  Chloris. 

"Farewell  to  you  now,  Jurgen!"  says  Chloris,  weep 
ing  softly.  "It  is  little  I  care  what  foolish  words  these 
priests  of  Philistia  may  utter  against  me.  But  the  big- 
armed  axemen  are  felling  my  tree  yonder,  to  get  them 
timber  to  make  a  bedstead  for  the  Queen  of  Philistia: 
for  that  is  what  this  Queen  Dolores  ordered  them  to  do 
the  first  thing  this  morning." 

And  Jurgen  raised  his  hands.  "You  women !"  he  said. 
"What  man  would  ever  have  thought  of  that  ?" 

"So  when  my  tree  is  felled  I  must  depart  into  a  sombre 
land  wherein  there  is  no  laughter  at  all;  and  where  the 
puzzled  dead  go  wandering  futilely  through  fields  of 
scentless  asphodel,  and  through  tall  sullen  groves  of 
myrtle, — the  puzzled  quiet  dead,  who  may  not  even  weep 
as  I  do  now,  but  can  only  wonder  what  it  is  that  they 
regret.  And  I  too  must  taste  of  Lethe,  and  forget  all  I 
have  loved." 

"You  should  give  thanks  to  the  imagination  of  your 
forefathers,  my  dear,  that  your  doom  is  no  worse.  For1 
I  am  going  into  a  more  barbaric  limbo,  into  the  Hell  of 

246 


FAREWELL  TO  CHLORIS  247 


a  people  who  thought  entirely  too  much  about  flames  and 
pitchforks,"  says  Jurgen,  ruefully.  "I  tell  you  it  is  the 
deuce  and  all,  to  come  of  morbid  ancestry."  And  he 
kissed  Chloris,  upon  the  brow.  "My  dear,  dear  girl," 
he  said,  with  a  gulp,  "as  long  as  you  remember  me,  do 
so  with  charity." 

"Jurgen" — and  she  clung  close  to  him — "you  were  not 
ever  unkind,  not  even  for  a  moment.  Jurgen,  you  have 
not  ever  spoken  one  harsh  word  to  me  or  any  other 
person,  in  all  the  while  we  were  together.  O  Jurgen, 
whom  I  have  loved  as  you  could  love  nobody,  it  was  not 
much  those  other  women  had  left  me  to  worship !" 

"Indeed,  it  is  a  pity  that  you  loved  me,  Chloris,  for  I 
was  not  worthy."  And  for  the  instant  Jurgen  meant  it. 

"If  any  other  person  said  that,  Jurgen,  I  would  be  very 
angry.  And  even  to  hear  you  say  it  troubles  me,  because 
there  was  never  a  hamadryad  between  two  hills  that  had 
a  husband  one-half  so  clever- foolish  as  he  made  light 
of  time  and  chance,  with  his  sleek  black  head  cocked  to 
one  side,  and  his  mischievous  brown  eyes  a-twinkle." 

And  Jurgen  wondered  that  this  should  be  the  notion 
Chloris  had  of  him,  and  that  a  gesture  should  be  the 
things  she  remembered  about  him:  and  he  was  doubly 
assured  that  no  woman  bothers  to  understand  the  man 
she  elects  to  love  and  cosset  and  slave  for. 

"O  woman  dear,"  says  Jurgen,  "but  I  have  loved  you, 
and  my  heart  is  water  now  that  you  are  taken  from  me : 
and  to  remember  your  ways  and  the  joy  I  had  in  them 
will  be  a  big  and  grinding  sorrow  in  the  long  time  to 
come.  Oh,  not  with  any  heroic  love  have  I  loved  you, 
nor  with  any  madness  and  high  dreams,  nor  with  much 


248  JURGEN 


talking  either ;  but  with  a  love  befitting  my  condition,  with 
a  quiet  and  cordial  love." 

"And  must  you  be  trying,  while  I  die,  to  get  your 
grieving  for  me  into  the  right  words?"  she  asks  him, 
smiling  very  sadly.  "No  matter:  you  are  Jurgen,  and 
I  have  loved  you.  And  I  am  glad  that  I  shall  know 
nothing  about  it  when  in  the  long  time  to  come  you  will 
be  telling  so  many  other  women  about  what  was  said  by 
Zorobasius  and  Ptolemopiter,  and  when  you  will  be  pos 
turing  and  romancing  for  their  delight.  For  presently  I 
shall  have  tasted  Lethe :  and  presently  I  shall  have  for 
gotten  you,  King  Jurgen,  and  all  the  joy  I  had  in  you, 
and  all  the  pride,  and  all  the  love  I  had  for  you,  King 
Jurgen,  who  loved  me  as  much  as  you  were  able." 

"Why,  and  will  there  be  any  love-making,  do  you  think, 
in  Hell?"  he  asks  her,  with  a  doleful  smile. 

"There  will  be  love-making,"  she  replied,  "wherever 
you  go,  King  Jurgen.  And  there  will  be  women  to  listen. 
And  at  the  last  there  will  be  a  bean-pole  of  a  woman,  in 
a  wig." 

"I  am  sorry — "  he  said.  "And  yet  I  have  loved  you, 
Chloris." 

"That  is  my  comfort  now.  And  presently  there  will 
be  Lethe.  I  put  the  greater  faith  in  Lethe.  And  still, 
I  cannot  help  but  love  you,  Jurgen,  in  whom  I  have  no 
faith  at  all." 

He  said,  again :    "I  am  not  worthy." 

They  kissed.  Then  each  of  them  was  conveyed  to  an 
appropriate  doom. 

And  tears  were  in  the  eyes  of  Jurgen,  who  was  not 
used  to  weep :  and  he  thought  not  at  all  of  what  was  to 
befall  him,  but  only  of  this  and  that  small  trivial  thing 


FAREWELL  TO  CHLORIS  249 


which  would  have  pleased  his  Chloris  had  Jurgen  done 
it,  and  which  for  one  reason  or  another  Jurgen  had  left 
undone. 

"I  was  not  ever  unkind  to  her,  says  she!  ah,  but  I 
might  have  been  so  much  kinder.  And  now  I  shall  not 
ever  see  her  any  more,  nor  ever  any  more  may  I  awaken 
delight  and  admiration  in  those  bright  tender  eyes  which 
saw  no  fault  in  me !  Well,  but  it  is  a  comfort  surely  that 
she  does  not  know  how  I  devoted  the  last  night  she  was 
to  live  to  teaching  mathematics." 

And  then  Jurgen  wondered  how  he  would  be  des 
patched  into  the  Hell  of  his  fathers?  And  when  the 
Philistines  showed  him  in  what  manner  they  proposed  to 
inflict  their  sentence  he  wondered  at  his  own  obtuseness. 

"For  I  might  have  surmised  this  would  be  the  way  of 
it,"  said  Jurgen.  "And  yet  as  always  there  is  a  simplicity 
in  the  methods  of  the  Philistines  which  is  unimaginable 
by  really  clever  fellows.  And  as  always,  too,  these 
methods  are  unfair  to  us  clever  fellows.  Well,  I  am 
willing  to  taste  any  drink  once :  but  this  is  a  very  horrible 
device,  none  the  less;  and  I  wonder  if  I  have  the  pluck 
to  endure  it  ?" 

Then  as  he  stood  considering  this  matter,  a  man-at- 
arms  came  hurrying.  He  brought  with  him  three  great 
rolled  parchments,  with  seals  and  ribbons  and  everything 
in  order:  and  these  were  Jurgen's  pardon  and  Jurgen's 
nomination  as  Poet  Laureate  of  Philistia  and  Jurgen's 
appointment  as  Mathematician  Royal. 

The  man-at-arms  brought  also  a  letter  from  Queen 
Dolores,  and  this  Jurgen  read  with  a  frown. 

"Do  you  consider  now  what  fun  it  would  be  to  hood 
wink  everybody  by  pretending  to  conform  to  our  laws !" 


250  JURGEN 


said  this  letter,  and  it  said  nothing  more:  Dolores  was 
really  a  wise  woman.  Yet  there  was  a  postscript.  'Tor 
we  could  be  so  happy!"  said  the  postscript. 

And  Jurgen  looked  toward  the  Woods,  where  men  were 
sawing  up  a  great  oak-tree.  And  Jurgen  gave  a  fine 
laugh,  and  with  fine  deliberateness  he  tore  up  the  Queen's 
letter  into  little  strips.  Then  statelily  he  took  the  parch 
ments,  and  found  they  were  so  tough  he  could  not  tear 
them.  This  was  uncommonly  awkward,  for  Jurgen's  ill- 
advised  attempt  to  tear  the  parchments  impaired  the 
dignity  of  his  magnanimous  self-sacrifice:  he  even  sus 
pected  one  of  the  guards  of  smiling.  So  there  was 
nothing  for  it  but  presently  to  give  up  that  futile  tugging 
and  jerking,  and  to  compromise  by  crumpling  these 
parchments. 

"This  is  my  answer,"  said  Jurgen.  heroically,  and  with 
some  admiration  of  himself,  but  still  a  little  dashed  by  the 
uncalled-for  toughness  of  the  parchments. 

Then  Jurgen  cried  farewell  to  fallen  Leuke;  and 
scornfully  he  cried  farewell  to  the  Philistines  and  to  their 
devices.  Then  he  submitted  to  their  devices.  Thus,  it 
was  without  making  any  special  protest  about  it  that 
Jurgen  was  relegated  to  limbo,  and  was  despatched  to  the 
Hell  of  his  fathers,  two  days  before  Christmas. 


34. 

How  ILmperor  Jurgen  Fared  Infernally 


NOW  the  tale  tells  how  the  devils  of  Hell  were  in 
one  of  their  churches  celebrating  Christmas  in 
such  manner  as  the  devils  observe  that  day ;  and 
how  Jurgen  came  through  the  trapdoor  in  the  vestry- 
room  ;  and  how  he  saw  and  wondered  over  the  creatures 
which  inhabited  this  place.  For  to  him  after  the 
Christmas  services  came  all  such  devils  as  his  fathers  had 
foretold,  and  in  not  a  hair  or  scale  or  talon  did  they  differ 
from  the  worst  that  anybody  had  been  able  to  imagine. 

"Anatomy  is  hereabouts  even  more  inconsequent  than 
in  Cocaigne,"  was  Jurgen's  first  reflection.  But  the  first 
thing  the  devils  did  was  to  search  Jurgen  very  carefully, 
in  order  to  make  sure  he  was  not  bringing  any  water  into 
Hell. 

"Now,  who  may  you  be,  that  come  to  us  alive,  in  a 
fine  shirt  of  which  we  never  saw  the  like  before?"  asked 
Dithican.  He  had  the  head  of  a  tiger,  but  otherwise  the 
appearance  of  a  large  bird,  with  shining  feathers  and 
four  feet:  his  neck  was  yellow,  his  body  green,  and  his 
feet  black. 

"It  would  not  be  treating  honestly  with  you  to  deny 
that  I  am  the  Emperor  of  Noumaria,"  said  Jurgen, 
somewhat  advancing  his  estate. 

Now  spoke  Amaimon,  in  the  form  of  a  thick  suet- 

251 


252  JURGEN 


colored  worm  going  upright  upon  his  tail,  which  shone 
like  the  tail  of  a  glowworm.  He  had  no  feet,  but  under 
his  chops  were  two  short  hands,  and  upon  his  back  were 
bristles  such  as  grow  upon  hedgehogs. 

"But  we  are  rather  overrun  with  emperors,"  said  Amai- 
mon,  doubtfully,  "and  their  crimes  are  a  great  trouble  to 
us.  Were  you  a  very  wicked  ruler?" 

"Never  since  I  became  an  emperor,"  replied  Jurgen, 
"has  any  of  my  subjects  uttered  one  word  of  complaint 
against  me.  So  it  stands  to  reason  I  have  nothing  very 
serious  with  which  to  reproach  myself." 

"Your  conscience,  then,  does  not  demand  that  you  be 
punished  ?" 

"My  conscience,  gentlemen,  is  too  well-bred  to  insist 
on  anything." 

"You  do  not  even  wish  to  be  tortured?" 

"Well,  I  admit  I  had  expected  something  of  the  sort, 
But  none  the  less,  I  will  not  make  a  point  of  it,"  said 
Jurgen,  handsomely.  "No,  I  shall  be  quite  satisfied  even 
though  you  do  not  torture  me  at  all." 

And  then  the  mob  of  devils  made  a  great  to-do  ovet 
Jurgen. 

"For  it  is  exceedingly  good  to  have  at  least  one  unpre 
tentious  and  undictatorial  human  being  in  Hell.  Nobody 
as  a  rule  drops  in  on  us  save  inordinately  proud  and 
conscientious  ghosts,  whose  self-conceit  is  intolerable,  ariU 
whose  demands  are  outrageous." 

"How  can  that  be?" 

"Why,  we  have  to  punish  them.  Of  course  they  are 
not  properly  punished  until  they  are  convinced  that  what 
is  happening  to  them  is  just  and  adequate.  And  you  have 
no  notion  what  elaborate  tortures  they  insist  their  ex- 


HOW  EMPEROR  JURGEN  FARED  INFERNALLY  253 

ceeding  wickedness  has  merited,  as  though  that  which 
they  did  or  left  undone  could  possibly  matter  to  any 
body.  And  to  contrive  these  torments  quite  tires  us  out." 

"But  wherefore  is  this  place  called  the  Hell  of  my 
fathers ?" 

"Because  your  forefathers  builded  it  in  dreams,"  they 
told  him,  "out  of  the  pride  which  led  them  to  believe  that 
what  they  did  was  of  sufficient  importance  to  merit  pun 
ishment.  Or  so  at  least  we  have  heard :  but  if  you  want 
the  truth  of  the  matter  you  must  go  to  our  Grandfather 
at  Barathum." 

"I  shall  go  to  him,  then.  And  do  my  own  grandfathers, 
and  all  the  forefathers  that  I  had  in  the  old  time,  inhabit 
this  gray  place?" 

"All  such  as  are  born  with  what  they  call  a  conscience 
come  hither,"  the  devils  said.  "Do  you  think  you  could 
persuade  them  to  go  elsewhere?  For  in  that  event,  we 
would  be  deeply  obliged  to  you.  Their  self-conceit  is 
pitiful :  but  it  is  also  a  nuisance,  because  it  prevents  our 
getting  any  rest." 

"Perhaps  I  can  help  you  to  obtain  justice,  and  cer 
tainly  to  attempt  to  secure  justice  for  you  is  my  imperial 
duty.  But  who  governs  this  country?" 

They  told  him  how  Hell  was  divided  into  principalities 
that  had  for  governors  Lucifer  and  Beelzebub  and  Belial 
and  Ascheroth  and  Phlegeton :  but  that  over  all  these  was 
Grandfather  Satan,  who  lived  in  the  Black  House  at 
Barathum. 

"Well,  I  prefer,"  says  Jurgen,  "to  deal  directly  with 
your  principal,  especially  if  he  can  explain  the  polity  of 
this  insane  and  murky  country.  Do  some  of  you  con 
duct  me  to  him  in  such  state  as  becomes  an  emperor !" 


254  JURGEN 


So  Cannagosta  fetched  a  wheelbarrow,  and  Jurgen  got 
into  it,  and  Cannagosta  trundled  him  away.  Cannagosta 
was  something  like  an  ox,  but  rather  more  like  a  cat,  and 
his  hair  was  curly. 

And  as  they  came  through  Chorasma,  a  very  uncom 
fortable  place  where  the  damned  abide  in  torment,  whom 
should  Jurgen  see  but  his  own  father,  Coth,  the  son  of 
Smoit  and  Steinvor,  standing  there  chewing  his  long 
moustaches  in  the  midst  of  an  especially  tall  flame. 

"Do  you  stop  now  for  a  moment!"  says  Jurgen,  to 
his  escort. 

"Oh,  but  this  is  the  most  vexatious  person  in  all  Hell !" 
cried  Cannagosta ;  "and  a  person  whom  there  is  absolutely 
no  pleasing!" 

"Nobody  knows  that  better  than  I,"  says  Jurgen. 

And  Jurgen  civilly  bade  his  father  good-day,  but  Coth 
did  not  recognize  this  spruce  young  Emperor  of  Nou- 
maria,  who  went  about  Hell  in  a  wheelbarrow. 

"You  do  not  know  me,  then?"  says  Jurgen. 

"How  should  I  know  you  when  I  never  saw  you  be 
fore  ?"  replied  Coth,  irritably. 

And  Jurgen  did  not  argue  the  point :  for  he  knew  that 
he  and  his  father  could  never  agree  about  anything.  So 
Jurgen  kept  silent  for  that  time,  and  Cannagosta  wheeled 
him  through  the  gray  twilight,  descending  always  deeper 
and  yet  deeper  into  the  lowlands  of  Hell,  until  they 
had  come  to  Barathum. 


35. 

Grandfather  Satan  Reported 


NEXT  the  tale  tells  how  three  inferior  devils  made 
a  loud  music  with  bagpipes  as  Jurgen  went  into 
the  Black  House  of  Barathum,  to  talk  with 
Grandfather  Satan. 

Satan  was  like  a  man  of  sixty,  or  it  might  he  sixty- 
two,  in  all  things  save  that  he  was  covered  with  gray 
fur,  and  had  horns  like  those  of  a  stag.  He  wore  a 
breech-clout  of  very  dark  gray>  and  he  sat  in  a  chair  of 
black  marble,  on  a  dais :  his  bushy  tail,  which  was  like  that 
of  a  squirrel,  waved  restlessly  over  his  head  as  he  looked 
at  Jurgen,  without  speaking,  and  without  turning  his 
mind  from  an  ancient  thought.  And  his  eyes  were  like 
light  shining  upon  little  pools  of  ink,  for  they  had  no 
whites  to  them. 

"What  is  the  meaning  of  this  insane  country?"  says 
Jurgen,  plunging  at  the  heart  of  things.  "There  is  no 
sense  in  it,  and  no  fairness  at  all." 

"Ah,"  replied  Satan,  in  his  curious  hoarse  voice,  "you 
may  well  say  that :  and  it  is  what  I  was  telling  my  wife 
only  last  night." 

"You  have  a  wife,  then!"  says  Jurgen,  who  was  always 
interested  in  such  matters.  "Why,  but  to  be  sure !  either 
as  a  Christian  or  as  a  married  man,  I  should  have  com- 

255 


256  JURGEN 


prehended  this  was  Satan's  due.  And  how  do  you  get  ori 
with  her?" 

"Pretty  well,"  says  Grandfather  Satan:  "but  she  does 
not  understand  me." 

"Et  tu,  Brute!"  says  Jurgen. 

"And  what  does  that  mean?'* 

"It  is  an  expression  connotating  astonishment  over  an 
event  without  parallel.  But  everything  in  Hell  seems 
rather  strange,  and  the  place  is  not  at  all  as  it  was  rumored 
to  be  by  the  priests  and  the  bishops  and  the  cardinals  that 
used  to  be  exhorting  me  in  my  fine  palace  at  Breschau." 

"And  where,  did  you  say,  is  this  palace  ?" 

"In  Noumaria,  where  I  am  the  Emperor  Jurgen.  And 
I  need  not  insult  you  by  explaining  Breschau  is  my  capi 
tal  city,  and  is  noted  for  its  manufacture  of  linen  and 
woolen  cloth  and  gloves  and  cameos  and  brandy,  though 
the  majority  of  my  subjects  are  engaged  ifl  cattle-breeding 
and  agricultural  pursuits." 

"Of  course  not:  for  I  have  studied  geography.  And, 
Jurgen,  it  is  often  I  have  heard  of  you,  though  never  of 
your  being  an  emperor." 

"Did  I  not  say  this  place  was  not  in  touch  with  new 
ideas?" 

"Ah,  but  you  must  remember  that  thoughtful  persons 
keep  out  of  Hell.  Besides,  the  war  with  Heaven  pre 
vents  us  from  thinking  of  other  matters.  In  any  event, 
you  Emperor  Jurgen,  by  what  authority  do  you  question 
Satan,  in  Satan's  home?" 

"I  have  heard  that  word  which  the  ass  spoke  with  the 
cat,"  replied  Jurgen;  for  he  recollected  upon  a  sudden 
what  Merlin  had  shown  him. 

Grandfather    Satan    nodded    comprehendingly.      "All 


WHAT  GRANDFATHER  SATAN  REPORTED       257 


honor  be  to  Set  and  Bast !  and  may  their  power  increase. 
This,  Emperor,  is  how  my  kingdom  came  about." 

Then  Satan,  sitting  erect  and  bleak  in  his  tall  marble 
chair,  explained  how  he,  and  all  the  domain  and  all  the 
infernal  hierarchies  he  ruled,  had  been  created  extempore 
by  Koshchei,  to  humor  the  pride  of  Jurgen's  forefathers. 
''For  they  were  exceedingly  proud  of  their  sins.  And 
Koshchei  happened  to  notice  Earth  once  upon  a  time, 
with  your  forefathers  walking  about  it  exultant  in  the 
enormity  of  their  sins  and  in  the  terrible  punishments  they 
expected  in  requital.  Now  Koshchei  will  do  almost  any 
thing  to  humor  pride,  because  to  be  proud  is  one  of  the 
two  things  that  are  impossible  to  Koshchei.  So  he  was 
pleased,  oh,  very  much  pleased:  and  after  he  had  had 
his  laugh  out,  he  created  Hell  extempore,  and  made  it 
just  such  a  place  as  your  forefathers  imagined  it  ought 
to  be,  in  order  to  humor  the  pride  of  your  forefathers." 

"And  why  is  pride  impossible  to  Koshchei?" 

''Because  he  made  things  as  they  are ;  and  day  and 
night  he  contemplates  things  as  they  are,  having  nothing 
else  to  look  at.  How,  then,  can  Koshchei  be  proud?" 

"I  see.  It  is  as  if  I  were  imprisoned  in  a  cell  wherein 
there  was  nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  except  my  verses. 
I  shudder  to  think  of  it!  But  what  is  this  other  thing 
which  is  impossible  to  Koshchei  ?" 

"I  do  not  know.  It  is  something  that  does  not  enter 
into  Hell." 

"Well,  I  wish  I  too  had  never  entered  here,  and  now 
you  must  assist  me  to  get  out  of  this  murky  place." 

"And  why  must  I  assist  you?" 

"Because,"  said  Jurgen,  and  he  drew  out  the  cantrap 
of  the  Master  Philologist,  "  because  at  the  death  of 


258  JURGEN 


Adrian  the  Fifth,  Pedro  Juliani,  who  should  be  named 
John  the  Twentieth,  was  through  an  error  in  the  reckon 
ing  elevated  to  the  papal  chair  as  John  the  Twenty-first. 
Do  you  not  find  my  reason  sufficient  ?" 

"No/5  said  Grandfather  Satan,  after  thinking  it  over, 
"I  cannot  say  that  I  do.  But,  then,  popes  go  to  Heaven. 
It  is  considered  to  look  better,  all  around,  and  particularly 
by  my  countrymen,  inasmuch  as  many  popes  have  been 
suspected  of  pro-Celestialism.  So  we  admit  none  of  them 
into  Hell,  in  order  to  be  on  the  safe  side,  now  that  we 
are  at  war.  In  consequence,  I  am  no  judge  of  popes  and 
their  affairs,  nor  do  I  pretend  to  be." 

And  Jurgen  perceived  that  again  he  had  employed  his 
cantrap  incorrectly  or  else  that  it  was  impotent  to  rescue 
people  from  Satan.  "But  who  would  have  thought,"  he 
reflected,  "  that  Grandfather  Satan  was  such  a  simple 
old  creature!" 

"How  long,  then,  must  I  remain  here?"  asks  Jurgen, 
after  a  dejected  pause. 

"I  do  not  know,"  replies  Satan.  "It  must  depend 
entirely  upon  what  your  father  thinks  about  it — " 

"But  what  has  he  to  do  with  it?" 

" — Since  I  and  all  else  that  is  here  are  your  father's 
absurd  notions,  as  you  have  so  frequently  proved  by 
logic.  And  it  is  hardly  possible  that  such  a  clever  fellow 
as  you  can  be  mistaken." 

"Why,  of  course,  that  is  not  possible,"  says  Jurgen. 
"Well,  the  matter  is  rather  complicated.  But  I  am  willing 
to  taste  any  drink  once:  and  I  shall  manage  to  get  justice 
somehow,  even  in  this  unreasonable  place  where  my 
father's  absurd  notions  are  the  truth." 

So  Jurgen  left  the  Black  House  of  Barathum:  and 


WHAT  GRANDFATHER  SATAN  REPORTED       259 


Jurgen  also  left  Grandfather  Satan,  erect  and  bleak  in 
his  tall  marble  chair,  and  with  his  eyes  gleaming  in  the 
dim  light,  as  he  sat  there  restively  swishing  his  soft  bushy 
tail,  and  not  ever  turning  his  mind  from  an  ancient 
thought. 


36. 

Coth  was  Contradicted 


THEN  Jurgen  went  back  to  Chorasma,  where 
Coth,  the  son  of  Smoit  and  Steinvor,  stood  con 
scientiously  in  the  midst  of  the  largest  and  hottest 
flame  he  had  been  able  to  imagine,  and  rebuked  the  out 
worn  devils  who  were  tormenting  him,  because  the  tor 
tures  they  inflicted  were  not  adequate  to  the  wickedness 
of  Coth. 

And  Jurgen  cried  to  his  father:  "The  lewd  fiend 
Cannagosta  told  you  I  was  the  Emperor  of  Noumaria, 
and  I  do  not  deny  it  even  now.  But  do  you  not  perceive 
I  am  likewise  your  son  Jurgen?" 

"Why,  so  it  is,"  said  Coth,  "now  that  I  look  at  the 
rascal.  And  how,  Jurgen,  did  you  become  an  emperor  ?" 

"Oh,  sir,  and  is  this  a  place  wherein  to  talk  about  mere 
earthly  dignities  ?  I  am  surprised  your  mind  should  still 
run  upon  these  empty  vanities  even  here  in  torment/' 

"But  it  is  inadequate  torment,  Jurgen,  such  as  does  not 
salve  my  conscience.  There  is  no  justice  in  this  place,  and 
no  way  of  getting  justice.  For  these  shiftless  devils  do 
not  take  seriously  that  which  I  did,  and  they  merely  pre 
tend  to  punish  me,  and  so  my  conscience  stays  unsatis 
fied." 

"Well,  but,  father,  I  have  talked  with  them,  and  they 

260 


WHY  COTH  WAS  CONTRADICTED  261 


seem  to  think  your  crimes  do  not  amount  to  much,  after 
all." 

Coth  flew  into  one  of  his  familiar  rages.  "I  would 
have  you  know  that  I  killed  eight  men  in  cold  blood, 
and  held  five  other  men  while  they  were  being  killed. 
I  estimate  the  sum  of  such  iniquity  as  ten  and  a  half 
murders,  and  for  these  my  conscience  demands  that  I  be 
punished." 

"Ah,  but,  sir,  that  was  fifty  years  or  more  ago,  and 
these  men  would  now  be  dead  in  any  event,  so  you  see 
it  does  not  matter  now." 

"I  went  astray  with  women,  with  I  do  not  know  how 
many  women." 

Jurgen  shook  his  head.  "This  is  very  shocking  news 
for  a  son  to  receive,  and  you  can  imagine  my  feelings. 
None  the  less,  sir,  that  also  was  fifty  years  ago,  and  no 
body  is  bothering  over  it  now." 

"You  jackanapes,  I  tell  you  that  I  swore  and  stole  and 
forged  and  burned  four  houses  and  broke  the  Sabbath 
and  was  guilty  of  mayhem  and  spoke  disrespectfully  to 
my  mother  and  worshipped  a  stone  image  in  Porutsa.  I 
tell  you  I  shattered  the  whole  Decalogue,  time  and  again.' 
I  committed  all  the  crimes  that  were  ever  heard  of,  and 
invented  six  new  ones." 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Jurgen :  "but,  still,  what  does  it  matter 
if  you  did?" 

"Oh,  take  away  this  son  of  mine!"  cried  Coth:  "for 
he  is  his  mother  all  over  again;  and  though  I  was  the 
vilest  sinner  that  ever  lived,  I  have  not  deserved  to  be 
plagued  twice  with  such  silly  questions.  And  I  demand 
that  you  loitering  devils  bring  more  fuel." 

"Sir,"  said  a  panting  little  fiend,  in  the  form  of  a  tad- 


262  JURGEN 


pole  with  hairy  arms  and  legs  like  a  monkey's,  as  he  ran 
up  with  four  bundles  of  faggots,  "we  are  doing  the  very 
best  we  can  for  your  discomfort.  But  you  damned  have 
no  consideration  for  us,  and  do  not  remember  that  we  are 
on  our  feet  day  and  night,  waiting  upon  you,"  said  the 
little  devil,  whimpering,  as  with  his  pitchfork  he  raked 
up  the  fire  about  Coth.  "You  do  not  even  remember  the 
upset  condition  of  the  country,  on  account  of  the  war 
with  Heaven,  which  makes  it  so  hard  for  us  to  get  you 
all  the  inconveniences  of  life.  Instead,  you  lounge  in 
your  flames,  and  complain  about  the  service,  and  Grand 
father  Satan  punishes  us,  and  it  is  not  fair." 

"I  think,  myself,"  said  Jurgen,  "you  should  be  gentler 
with  the  boy.  And  as  for  your  crimes,  sir,  come,  will 
you  not  conquer  this  pride  which  you  nickname  con 
science,  and  concede  that  after  any  man  has  been  dead  a 
little  while  it  does  not  matter  at  all  what  he  did  ?  Why, 
about  Bellegarde  no  one  ever  thinks  of  your  throat- 
cutting  and  Sabbath-breaking  except  when  very  old 
people  gossip  over  the  fire,  and  your  wickedness  brightens 
up  the  evening  for  them.  To  the  rest  of  us  you  are 
just  a  stone  in  the  churchyard  which  describes  you  as  a 
paragon  of  all  the  virtues.  And  outside  of  Bellegarde, 
sir,  your  name  and  deeds  mean  nothing  now  to  anybody, 
and  no  one  anywhere  remembers  you.  So  really  your 
wickedness  is  not  bothering  any  person  now  save  these 
poor  toiling  devils :  and  I  think  that,  in  consequence,  you 
might  consent  to  put  up  with  such  torments  as  they  can 
conveniently  contrive,  without  complaining  so  ill-temper- 
edly  about  it." 

"Ah,  but  my  conscience,  Jurgen!  that  is  the  point/' 
"Oh,  if  you  continue  to  talk  about  your  conscience, 


WHY  COTH  WAS  CONTRADICTED  263 


sir,  you  restrict  the  conversation  to  matters  I  do  not 
understand,  and  so  cannot  discuss.  But  I  dare  say  we 
will  find  occasion  to  thresh  out  this,  and  all  other  matters, 
by  and  by:  and  you  and  I  will  make  the  best  of  this 
place,  for  now  I  will  never  leave  you." 

Coth  began  to  weep:  and  he  said  that  his  sins  in  the 
flesh  had  been  too  heinous  for  this  comfort  to  be  per 
mitted  him  in  the  unendurable  torment  which  he  had 
fairly  earned,  and  hoped  some  day  to  come  by. 

"Do  you  care  about  me,  one  way  or  the  other,  then  ?" 
says  Jurgen,  quite  astounded. 

And  from  the  midst  of  his  flame  Coth,  the  son  of 
Smoit,  talked  of  the  birth  of  Jurgen,  and  of  the  infant 
that  had  been  Jurgen,  and  of  the  child  that  had  been 
Jurgen.  And  a  horrible,  deep,  unreasonable  emotion 
moved  in  Jurgen  as  he  listened  to  the  man  who  had  be 
gotten  him,  and  whose  flesh  was  Jurgen's  flesh,  and  whose 
thoughts  had  not  ever  been  Jurgen's  thoughts :  and  Jur 
gen  did  not  like  it.  Then  the  voice  of  Coth  was  bitterly 
changed,  as  he  talked  of  the  young  man  that  had  been 
Jurgen,  of  the  young  man  who  was  idle  and  rebellious 
and  considerate  of  nothing  save  his  own  light  desires; 
and  of  the  division  which  had  arisen  between  Jurgen  and 
Jurgen's  father  Coth  spoke  likewise:  and  Jurgen  felt 
better  now,  but  was  still  grieved  to  know  how  much  his 
father  had  once  loved  him. 

"It  is  lamentably  true,"  says  Jurgen,  "that  I  was  an 
idle  and  rebellious  son.  So  I  did  not  follow  your  teach 
ings.  I  went  astray,  oh,  very  terribly  astray.  I  even 
went  astray,  sir  I  must  tell  you,  with  a  nature  myth 
connected  with  the  Moon." 

"Oh,  hideous  abomination  of  the  heathen !" 


264  JURGEN 


"And  she  considered,  sir,  that  thereafter  I  was  likely 
to  become  a  solar  legend." 

"I  should  not  wonder,"  said  Coth,  and  he  shook  his 
bald  and  dome-shaped  head  despondently.  "Ah,  my  son, 
it  simply  shows  you  what  comes  of  these  wild  courses." 

"And  in  that  event,  I  would,  of  course,  be  released 
from  sojourning  in  the  underworld  by  the  Spring  Equi 
nox.  Do  you  not  think  so,  sir  ?"  says  Jurgen,  very  coax- 
ingly,  because  he  remembered  that,  according  to  Satan, 
whatever  Coth  believed  would  be  the  truth  in  Hell. 

"I  am  sure,"  said  Coth — "why,  I  am  sure  I  do  not 
know  anything  about  such  matters." 

"Yes,  but  what  do  you  think?" 

"I  do  not  think  about  it  at  all." 

"Yes,  but—" 

"Jurgen,  you  have  a  very  uncivil  habit  of  arguing  with 
people-"  * 

"Still,  sir—" 

"And  I  have  spoken  to  you  about  it  before — " 

"Yet,  father—" 

"And  I  do  not  wish  to  have  to  speak  to  you  about  it 
again — " 

"None  the  less,  sir—" 

"And  when  I  say  that  I  have  no  opinion — " 

"But  everybody  has  an  opinion,  father!"  Jurgen 
shouted  this,  and  felt  it  was  quite  like  old  times. 

"How  dare  you  speak  to  me  in  that  tone  of  voice,  sir !" 

"But  I  only  meant—" 

"Do  not  lie  to  me,  Jurgen!  and  stop  interrupting  me! 
For,  as  I  was  saying  when  you  began  to  yell  at  your 
father  as  though  you  were  addressing  an  unreasonable 
person,  it  is  my  opinion  that  I  know  nothing  whatever 


WHY  COTH  WAS  CONTRADICTED  265 


about  Equinoxes !  and  do  not  care  to  know  anything  about 
Equinoxes,  I  would  have  you  understand!  and  that  the 
less  said  as  to  such  disreputable  topics  the  better,  as  I  tell 
you  to  your  face!" 

And  Jurgen  groaned.  "Here  is  a  pretty  father!  If 
you  had  thought  so,  it  would  have  happened.  But  you 
imagine  me  in  a  place  like  this,  and  have  not  sufficient 
fairness,  far  less  paternal  affection,  to  imagine  me  out 
of  it." 

"I  can  only  think  of  your  well  merited  affliction,  you 
quarrelsome  scoundrel!  and  of  the  host  of  light  women 
with  whom  you  have  sinned !  and  of  the  doom  which  has 
befallen  you  in  consequence !" 

"Well,  at  worst,"  says  Jurgen,  "there  are  no  women 
here.  That  ought  to  be  a  comfort  to  you." 

"I  think  there  are  women  here,"  snapped  his  father. 
"It  is  reputed  that  quite  a  number  of  women  have  had 
consciences.  But  these  conscientious  women  are  probably 
kept  separate  from  us  men,  in  some  other  part  of  Hell, 
for  the  reason  that  if  they  were  admitted  into  Chorasma 
they  would  attempt  to  tidy  the  place  and  make  it  habit 
able.  I  know  your  mother  would  have  been  meddling  out 
of  hand." 

"Oh,  sir,  and  must  you  still  be  finding  fault  with 
mother?" 

"Your  mother,  Jurgen,  was  in  many  ways  an  admir 
able  woman.  But,"  said  Coth,  "she  did  not  understand 
me." 

"Ah,  well,  that  may  have  been  the  trouble.  Still,  all 
this  you  say  about  women  being  here  is  mere  guess-work." 

"It  is  not!"  said  Coth,  "and  I  want  none  of  your  im 
pudence,  either.  How  many  times  must  I  tell  you  that  ?" 


266  JURGEN 


Jurgen  scratched  his  ear  reflectively.  For  he  still  re 
membered  what  Grandfather  Satan  had  said,  and  Coth's 
irritation  seemed  promising.  "Well,  but  the  women  here 
are  all  ugly,  I  wager." 

"They  are  noil"  said  his  father,  angrily.  "Why  do 
you  keep  contradicting  me?" 

"Because  you  do  not  know  what  you  are  talking  about," 
says  Jurgen,  egging  him  on.  "How  could  there  be  any 
pretty  women  in  this  horrible  place?  For  the  soft  flesh 
would  be  burned  away  from  their  little  bones,  and  the 
loveliest  of  queens  would  be  reduced  to  a  horrid  cinder." 

"I  think  there  are  any  number  of  vampires  and  suc- 
cubi  and  such  creatures,  whom  the  flames  do  not  injure 
at  all,  because  these  creatures  are  informed  with  an  ardor 
that  is  unquenchable  and  is  more  hot  than  fire.  And  you 
understand  perfectly  what  I  mean,  so  there  is  no  need 
for  you  to  stand  there  goggling  at  me  like  a  horrified 
abbess !" 

"Oh,  sir,  but  you  know  very  well  that  I  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  such  unregenerate  persons." 

"I  do  not  know  anything  of  the  sort.  You  are  probably 
lying  to  me.  You  always  lied  to  me.  I  think  you  are 
on  your  way  to  meet  a  vampire  now." 

"What,  sir,  a  hideous  creature  with  fangs  and  leathery 
wings !" 

"No,  but  a  very  poisonous  and  seductively  beautiful 
creature." 

"Come,  now !  you  do  not  really  think  she  is  beautiful." 

"I  do  think  so.  How  dare  you  tell  me  what  I  think 
and  do  not  think !" 

"Ah,  well,  I  shall  have  nothing  to  do  with  her." 

"I  think  you  will,"  said  his  father:  "ah,  but  I  think 


WHY  COTH  WAS  CONTRADICTED  267 


you  will  be  up  to  your  tricks  with  her  before  this  hour 
is  out.  For  do  I  not  know  what  emperors  are?  and  do 
I  not  know  you  ?" 

And  Coth  fell  to  talking  of  Jurgen's  past,  in  the  cus 
tomary  terms  of  a  family  squabble,  such  as  are  not  very 
nicely  repeatable  elsewhere.  And  the  fiends  who  had  been 
tormenting  Coth  withdrew  in  embarrassment,  and  so  long 
as  Coth  continued  talking  they  kept  out  of  earshot. 


37. 

Invention  of  the  Lovely  Vampire 


SO  again  Coth  parted  with  his  son  in  anger,  and 
Jurgen    returned    again    toward    Barathum;    and, 
whether  or  not  it  was  a  coincidence,  Jurgen  met 
precisely   the  vampire  of   whom  he  had  inveigled  his 
father  into  thinking     She  was  the  most  seductively  beau 
tiful  creature  that  it  would  be  possible  for  Jurgen's  father 
or  any  other  man  to   imagine:   and  her  clothes   were 
orange-colored,  for  a  reason  sufficiently  well  known  in 
Hell,  and  were  embroidered  everywhere  with  green  fig- 
leaves. 

"A  good  morning  to  you,  madame,"  says  Jurgen,  "and 
whither  are  you  going?" 

"Why,  to  no  place  at  all,  good  youth.  For  this  is  my 
vacation,  granted  yearly  by  the  Law  of  Kalki — " 

"And  who  is  Kalki,  madame?" 

"Nobody  as  yet :  but  he  will  come  as  a  stallion.  Mean 
while  his  Law  precedes  him,  so  that  I  am  spending  my 
vacation  peacefully  in  Hell,  with  none  of  my  ordinary 
annoyances  to  bother  me." 

"And  what,  madame,  can  they  be  ?" 

"Why,  you  must  understand  that  it  is  little  rest  a 
vampire  gets  on  earth,  with  so  many  fine  young  fellows 
like  yourself  going  about  everywhere  eager  to  be  des 
troyed." 

268 


INVENTION  OF  THE  LOVELY  VAMPIRE         269 


"But  how,  madame,  did  you  happen  to  become  a  vam 
pire  if  the  life  does  not  please  you?  And  what  is  it  that 
they  call  you  ?" 

"My  name,  sir,"  replied  the  Vampire,  sorrowfully,  "is 
Florimel,  because  my  nature  no  less  than  my  person  was 
as  beautiful  as  the  flowers  of  the  field  and  as  sweet  as 
the  honey  which  the  bees  (who  furnish  us  with  such  ad 
mirable  examples  of  industry)  get  out  of  these  flowers. 
But  a  sad  misfortune  changed  all  this.  For  I  chanced 
one  day  to  fall  ill  and  die  (which,  of  course,  might  hap 
pen  to  anyone),  and  as  my  funeral  was  leaving  the  house 
the  cat  jumped  over  my  coffin.  That  was  a  terrible  mis 
fortune  to  befall  a  poor  dead  girl  so  generally  respected, 
and  in  wide  demand  as  a  seamstress ;  though,  even  then, 
the  worst  might  have  been  averted  had  not  my  sister- 
in-law  been  of  what  they  call  a  humane  disposition  and 
foolishly  attached  to  the  cat.  So  they  did  not  kill  it, 
and  I,  of  course,  became  a  vampire." 

"Yes,  I  can  understand  that  was  inevitable.  Still,  it 
seems  hardly  fair.  I  pity  you,  my  dear."  And  Jurgen 
sighed. 

"I  would  prefer,  sir,  that  you  did  not  address  me  thus 
familiarly,  since  you  and  I  have  omitted  the  formality  of 
an  introduction ;  and  in  the  absence  of  any  joint  acquaint 
ances  are  unlikely  ever  to  meet  properly." 

"I  have  no  herald  handy,  for  I  travel  incognito.  How 
ever,  I  am  that  Jurgen  who  recently  made  himself 
Emperor  of  Noumaria,  King  of  Eubonia,  Prince  of 
Cocaigne,  and  Duke  of  Logreus;  and  of  whom  you  have 
doubtless  heard." 

"Why,  to  be  sure!"  says  she,  patting  her  hair  straight. 


270  JURGEN 


"And  who  would  have  anticipated  meeting  your  highness 
in  such  a  place!" 

"One  says  'majesty'  to  an  emperor,  my  dear.  It  is 
a  detail,  of  course:  but  in  my  position  one  has  to  be  a 
little  exigent." 

"I  perfectly  comprehend,  your  majesty;  and  indeed  I 
might  have  divined  your  rank  from  your  lovely  clothes. 
I  can  but  entreat  you  to  overlook  my  unintentional  breach 
of  etiquette:  and  I  make  bold  to  add  that  a  kind  heart 
reveals  the  splendor  of  its  graciousness  through  the  in 
terest  which  your  majesty  has  just  evinced  in  my  dis 
astrous  history." 

"Upon  my  word,"  thinks  Jurgen,  "but  in  this  flow  of 
words  I  seem  to  recognize  my  father's  imagination  when 
in  anger." 

Then  Florimel  told  Jurgen  of  her  horrible  awakening 
in  the  grave,  and  of  what  had  befallen  her  hands  and  feet 
there,  the  while  that  against  her  will  she  fed  repugnantly, 
destroying  first  her  kindred  and  then  the  neighbors.  This 
done,  she  had  arisen. 

"For  the  cattle  still  lived,  and  that  troubled  me.  When 
I  had  put  an  end  to  this  annoyance,  I  climbed  into  the 
church  belfry,  not  alone,  for  one  went  with  me  of  whom 
I  prefer  not  to  talk ;  and  at  midnight  I  sounded  the  bell 
so  that  all  who  heard  it  would  sicken  and  die.  And  I 
wept  all  the  while,  because  I  knew  that  when  everything 
had  been  destroyed  which  I  had  known  in  my  first  life  in 
the  flesh,  I  would  be  compelled  to  go  into  new  lands,  in 
search  of  the  food  which  alone  can  nourish  me,  and  I 
was  always  sincerely  attached  to  my  home.  So  it  was, 
your  majesty,  that  I  forever  relinquished  my  sewing,  and 
became  a  lovely  peril,  a  flashing  desolation,  and  an  evil 


INVENTION  OF  THE  LOVELY  VAMPIRE         271 


which  smites  by  night,  in  spite  of  my  abhorrence  of 
irregular  hours:  and  what  I  do  I  dislike  extremely,  for 
it  is  a  sad  fate  to  become  a  vampire,  and  still  to  sym 
pathize  with  your  victims,  and  particularly  with  their  poor 
mothers." 

So  Jurgen  comforted  Florimel,  and  he  put  his  arm 
around  her. 

"Come,  come !"  he  said,  "but  I  will  see  that  your  vaca 
tion  passes  pleasantly.  And  I  intend  to  deal  fairly  with 
you,  too." 

Then  he  glanced  sidewise  at  his  shadow,  and  whis 
pered  a  suggestion  which  caused  Florimel  to  sigh. 

"By  the  terms  of  my  doom,"  said  she,  "at  no  time  dur 
ing  the  nine  lives  of  the  cat  can  I  refuse.  Still,  it  is  a 
comfort  you  are  the  Emperor  of  Noumaria  and  have  a 
kind  heart." 

"Oh,  and  a  many  other  possessions,  my  dear!  and  I 
again  assure  you  that  I  intend  to  deal  fairly  with  you." 

So  Florimel  conducted  Jurgen,  through  the  changeless 
twilight  of  Barathum,  like  that  of  a  gray  winter  after 
noon,  to  a  quiet  cleft  by  the  Sea  of  Blood,  which  she  had 
fitted  out  very  cosily  in  imitation  of  her  girlhood  home ; 
and  she  lighted  a  candle,  and  made  him  welcome  to  her 
cleft.  And  when  Jurgen  was  about  to  enter  it  he  saw 
that  his  shadow  was  following  him  into  the  Vampire's 
home. 

"Let  us  extinguish  this  candle!"  says  Jurgen,  "for  I 
have  seen  so  many  flames  to-day  that  my  eyes  are  tired." 

So  Florimel  extinguished  the  candle,  with  a  good-will 
that  delighted  Jurgen.  And  now  they  were  in  utter  dark 
ness,  and  in  the  dark  nobody  can  see  what  is  happening. 


272  JURGEN 


But  that  Florimel  now  trusted  Jurgen  and  his  Noumarian 
claims  was  evinced  by  her  very  first  remark. 

"I  was  in  the  beginning  suspicious  of  your  majesty," 
said  Florimel,  "because  I  had  always  heard  that  every 
emperor  carried  a  magnificent  sceptre,  and  you  then  dis 
played  nothing  of  the  sort.  But  now,  somehow,  I  do  not 
doubt  you  any  longer.  And  of  what  is  your  majesty 
thinking?" 

"Why,  I  was  reflecting,  my  dear,"  says  Jurgen,  "that 
my  father  imagines  things  very  satisfactorily." 


38. 

As  to  Applauded  Precedents 


AFTERWARD  Jurgen  abode  in  Hell,  and  complied 
with  the  customs  of  that  country.     And  the  tale 
tells  that  a  week  or  it  might  be  ten  days  after  his 
meeting  with  Florimel,  Jurgen  married  her,  without  being 
at  all  hindered  by  his  having  three  other  wives.    For  the 
devils,  he  found,  esteemed  polygamy,  and  ranked  it  above 
mere  skill  at  torturing  the  damned,  through  a  literal  inter 
pretation  of  the  saying  that  it  is  better  to  marry  than  to 
burn. 

"And  formerly,"  they  told  Jurgen,  "you  could  hardly 
come  across  a  marriage  anywhere  that  was  not  hall 
marked  'made  in  Heaven' :  but  since  we  have  been  at  war 
with  Heaven  we  have  quite  taken  away  that  trade  from 
our  enemies.  So  you  may  marry  here  as  much  as  you 
like." 

"Why,  then,"  says  Jurgen,  "I  shall  marry  in  haste,  and 
repeat  at  leisure.  But  can  one  obtain  a  divorce  here  ?" 

"Oh,  no,"  said  they.  "We  trafficked  in  them  for  a 
while,  but  we  found  that  all  persons  who  obtained  di 
vorces  through  our  industry  promptly  thanked  Heaven 
they  were  free  at  last.  In  the  face  of  such  ingratitude 
we  gave  over  that  profitless  trade,  and  now  there  is  $. 
manufactory,  for  specialties  in  men's  clothing,  upon  tht 
old  statutory  grounds." 

273 


274  JURGEN 


"But  these  makeshifts  are  unsatisfactory,  and  I  wisH 
to  know,  in  confidence,  what  do  you  do  in  Hell  when 
there  is  no  longer  any  putting  up  with  your  wives." 

The  devils  all  blushed.  "We  would  prefer  not  to  tell 
you,"  said  they,  "for  it  might  get  to  their  ears." 

"Now  do  I  perceive,"  said  Jurgen,  "that  Hell  is  pretty 
much  like  any  other  place." 

So  Jurgen  and  the  lovely  Vampire  were  duly  married. 
First  Jurgen's  nails  were  trimmed,  and  the  parings  were1 
given  to  Florimel.  A  broomstick  was  laid  before  them, 
and  they  stepped  over  it.  Then  Florimel  said  "Temon !" 
thrice,  and  nine  times  did  Jurgen  reply  "Arigizator !" 
Afterward  the  Emperor  Jurgen  and  his  bride  were  given 
a  posset  of  dudaim  and  eruca,  and  the  devils  modestly 
withdrew. 

Thereafter  Jurgen  abode  in  Hell,  and  complied  with 
the  customs  of  that  country,  and  was  tolerably  content 
for  a  while.  Now  Jurgen  shared  with  Florimel  that  quiet 
cleft  which  she  had  fitted  out  in  imitation  of  her  girlhood 
home:  and  they  lived  in  the  suburbs  of  Barathum,  very 
respectably,  by  the  shore  of  the  sea.  There  was,  of 
course,  no  water  in  Hell ;  indeed  the  importation  of  water 
was  forbidden,  under  severe  penalties,  in  view  of  its  pos 
sible  use  for  baptismal  purposes :  this  sea  was  composed 
of  the  blood  that  had  been  shed  by  piety  in  furthering 
the  kingdom  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  and  was  reputed  to 
be  the  largest  ocean  in  existence.  And  it  explained  the 
nonsensical  saying  which  Jurgen  had  so  often  heard,  as 
to  Hell's  being  paved  with  good  intentions. 

"For  Epigenes  of  Rhodes  is  right,  after  all,"  said 
Jurgen,  "in  suggesting  a  misprint:  and  the  word  should 
be  'laved'." 


AS  TO  APPLAUDED  PRECEDENTS      275 


"Why,  to  be  sure,  your  majesty,"  assented  Florimel: 
"ah,  but  I  always  said  your  majesty  had  remarkable 
powers  of  penetration,  quite  apart  from  your  majesty's 
scholarship," 

For  Florimel  had  this  cajoling  way  of  speaking.  None 
the  less,  all  vampires  have  their  foibles,  and  are  nourished 
by  the  vigor  and  youth  of  their  lovers.  So  one  morning 
Florimel  complained  of  being  unwell,  and  attributed  it  to 
indigestion. 

Jurgen  stroked  her  head  meditatively;  then  he  opened 
his  glittering  shirt,  and  displayed  what  was  plain  enough 
to  see. 

"I  am  full  of  vigor  and  I  am  young,"  said  Jurgen,  "but 
my  vigor  and  my  youthfulness  are  of  a  peculiar  sort,  and 
are  not  wholesome.  So  let  us  have  no  more  of  your 
tricks,  or  you  will  quite  spoil  your  vacation  by  being  very 
ill  indeed." 

"But  I  had  thought  all  emperors  were  human!"  said 
Florimel,  in  a  flutter  of  blushing  penitence,  exceedingly 
pretty  to  observe. 

"Even  so,  sweetheart,  all  emperors  are  not  Jurgens," 
he  replied,  magnificently.  "Therefore  you  will  find  that 
not  every  emperor  is  justly  styled  the  father  of  his  people, 
or  is  qualified  by  nature  to  wield  the  sceptre  of  Noumaria. 
I  trust  this  lesson  will  suffice." 

"It  will,"  said  Florimel,  with  a  wry  face. 

So  thereafter  they  had  no  further  trouble  of  this  sort, 
and  the  wound  on  Jurgen's  breast  was  soon  healed. 

And  Jurgen  kept  away  from  the  damned,  of  course, 
because  he  and  Florimel  were  living  respectably.  They 
paid  a  visit  to  Jurgen's  father,  however,  very  shortly 
after  they  were  married,  because  this  was  the  proper 


276  JURGEN 


thing  to  do.  And  Coth  was  civil  enough,  for  Coth,  and 
voiced  a  hope  that  Florimel  might  have  a  good  influence 
upon  Jurgen  and  make  him  worth  his  salt,  but  did  not 
pretend  to  be  optimistic.  Yet  this  visit  was  never  returned, 
because  Coth  considered  his  wickedness  was  too  great 
for  him  to  be  spared  a  moment  of  torment,  and  so  would 
not  leave  his  flame. 

"And  really,  your  majesty,"  said  Florimel,  "I  do  not 
wish  for  an  instant  to  have  the  appearance  of  criticizing 
your  majesty's  relatives.  But  I  do  think  that  your 
majesty's  father  might  have  called  upon  us,  at  least  once, 
particularly  after  I  offered  to  have  a  fire  made  up  for 
him  to  sit  on  any  time  he  chose  to  come.  I  consider 
that  your  majesty's  father  assumes  somewhat  extravagant 
airs,  in  the  lack  of  any  definite  proof  as  to  his  having 
been  a  bit  more  wicked  than  anybody  else :  and  the  child 
like  candor  which  has  always  been  with  me  a  leading 
characteristic  prevents  concealment  of  my  opinion." 

"Oh,  it  is  just  his  conscience,  dear." 

"A  conscience  is  all  very  well  in  its  place,  your 
majesty;  and  I,  for  one,  would  never  have  been  able  to 
endure  the  interminable  labor  of  seducing  and  assassin 
ating  so  many  fine  young  fellows  if  my  conscience  had 
not  assured  me  that  it  was  all  the  fault  of  my  sister-in- 
law.  But,  even  so,  there  is  no  sense  in  letting  your  con 
science  make  a  slave  of  you :  and  when  conscience  reduces 
your  majesty's  father  to  ignoring  the  rules  of  common 
civility  and  behaving  like  a  candle-wick,  I  am  sure  that 
matters  are  being  carried  too  far." 

"And  right  you  are,  my  dear.  However,  we  do  not 
lack  for  company.  So  come  now,  make  yourself  fine,  and 


AS  TO  APPLAUDED  PRECEDENTS      27? 


shake  the  black  dog  from  your  back,  for  we  are  spending 
the  evening  with  the  Asmodeuses." 

"And  will  your  majesty  talk  politics  again ?" 
"Oh,  I  suppose  so.    They  appear  to  like  it." 
"I  only  wish  that  I  did,  your  majesty,"  observed  Flori- 
mel,  and  she  yawned  by  anticipation. 

For  with  the  devils  Jurgen  got  on  garrulously.  The 
religion  of  Hell  is  patriotism,  and  the  government  is  an 
enlightened  democracy.  This  contented  the  devils,  and 
Jurgen  had  learned  long  ago  never  to  fall  out  with  either 
of  these  codes,  without  which,  as  the  devils  were  fond  of 
observing,  Hell  would  not  be  what  it  is. 

They  were,  to  Jurgen's  finding,  simple-minded  fiends 
who  allowed  themselves  to  be  deplorably  overworked  by 
the  importunate  dead.  They  got  no  rest  because  of  the 
damned,  who  were  such  persons  as  had  been  saddled  with 
a  conscience,  and  who  in  consequence  demanded  inter 
minable  torments.  And  at  the  time  of  Jurgen's  coming 
into  Hell  political  affairs  were  in  a  very  bad  way,  because 
there  was  a  considerable  party  among  the  younger  devils 
who  were  for  compounding  the  age-old  war  with  Heaven, 
at  almost  any  price,  in  order  to  get  relief  from  this  un 
ceasing  influx  of  conscientious  dead  persons  in  search  of 
torment.  For  it  was  well-known  that  when  Satan  sub 
mitted  to  be  bound  in  chains  there  would  be  no  more 
death:  and  the  annoying  immigration  would  thus  be 
ended.  So  said  the  younger  devils:  and  considered 
Grandfather  Satan  ought  to  sacrifice  himself  for  the  gen 
eral  welfare. 

Then  too  they  pointed  out  that  Satan  had  been  perforce 
their  presiding  magistrate  ever  since  the  settlement  of 
Hell,  because  a  change  of  administration  is  inexpedient 


278  JURGEN 


in  war-time :  so  that  Satan  must  term  after  term  be  re- 
elected:  and  of  course  Satan  had  been  voted  absolute 
power  in  everything,  since  this  too  is  customary  in  war 
time.  Well,  and  after  the  first  few  thousand  years  of 
this  the  younger  devils  began  to  whisper  that  such  govern 
ment  was  not  ideal  democracy. 

But  their  more  conservative  elders  were  enraged  by 
these  effete  and  wild  new  notions,  and  dealt  with  their 
juniors  somewhat  severely,  tearing  them  into  bits  and 
quite  destroying  them.  The  elder  devils  then  proceeded 
to  inflict  even  more  startling  punishments. 

*    *     * 

So  Grandfather  Satan  was  much  vexed,  because  the 
laws  were  being  violated  everywhere :  and  a  day  or  two 
after  Jurgen's  advent  Satan  issued  a  public  appeal  to  his 
subjects,  that  the  code  of  Hell  should  be  better  respected. 
But  under  a  democratic  government  people  do  not  like  to 
be  perpetually  bothering  about  law  and  order,  as  one  of 
the  older  and  stronger  devils  pointed  out  to  Jurgen. 
*  Jurgen  drew  a  serious  face,  and  he  stroked  his  chin. 
"Why,  but  look  you,"  says  Jurgen,  "in  deploring  the  mob 
spirit  that  has  been  manifesting  itself  sporadically 
throughout  this  country  against  the  advocates  of  peace 
and  submission  to  the  commands  of  Heaven  and  other 
pro-Celestial  propaganda, — and  in  warning  loyal  citizen 
ship  that  such  outbursts  must  be  guarded  against,  as  hurt 
ful  to  the  public  welfare  of  Hell, — why,  Grandfather 
Satan  should  bear  in  mind  that  the  government,  in  large 
measure,  holds  the  remedy  of  the  evil  in  its  own  hands." 
And  Jurgen  looked  very  severely  toward  Satan. 

"Come  now,"  says  Phlegeton,  nodding  his  head,  which 
was  like  that  of  a  bear,  except  for  his  naked  long,  red 


AS  TO  APPLAUDED  PRECEDENTS       279 


ears,  inside  each  of  which  was  a  flame  like  that  of  a 
spirit-lamp:  "come  now,  but  this  young  emperor  in  the 
fine  shirt  speaks  uncommonly  well!" 

"So  we  spoke  together  in  Pandemonium,"  said  Belial, 
wistfully,  "in  the  brave  days  when  Pandemonium  was 
newly  built  and  we  were  all  imps  together."  . 

"Yes,  his  talk  is  of  the  old  school,  than  which  therp  is 
none  better.  So  pray  continue,  Emperor  Jurgen,"  cried 
the  elderly  devils,  "and  let  us  know  what  you  are  talking 
about." 

"Why,  merely  this/'  says  Jurgen,  and  again  he  looked 
severely  toward  Satan :  "I  tell  you  that  as  long  as  senti 
mental  weakness  marks  the  prosecution  of  offences  in 
violation  of  the  laws  necessitated  by  war-time  conditions ; 
as  long  as  deserved  punishment  for  overt  acts  of  pro- 
Celestialism  is  withheld ;  as  long  as  weak-kneed  clemency 
condones  even  a  suspicion  of  disloyal  thinking:  then  just 
so  long  will  a  righteously  incensed,  if  now  and  then  mis 
guided  patriotism  take  into  its  own  hands  vengeance  upon 
the  offenders." 

"But,  still "  said  Grandfather  Satan. 

"Ineffectual  administration  of  the  law,"  continued 
Jurgen,  sternly,  "is  the  true  defence  of  these  outbursts: 
and  far  more  justly  deplorable  than  acts  of  mob  violence 
is  the  policy  of  condonation  that  furnishes  occasion  for 
them.  The  patriotic  people  of  Hell  are  not  in  a  temper 
to  be  trifled  with,  now  that  they  are  at  war.  Conviction 
for  offenses  against  the  nation  should  not  be  behedged 
about  with  technicalities  devised  for  over-refined  peace 
time  jurisprudence.  Why,  there  is  no  one  of  you,  I  am 
sure,  but  has  at  his  tongue's  tip  the  immortal  words  of 
Livonius  as  to  this  very  topic :  and  so  I  shall  not  repeat 


280  JURGEN 


them.  But  I  fancy  you  will  agree  with  me  that  what 
Livonius  says  is  unanswerable." 

So  it  was  that  Jurgen  went  on  at  a  great  rate,  and  look 
ing  always  very  sternly  at  Grandfather  Satan. 

"Yes,  yes!"  said  Satan,  wriggling  uncomfortably,  but 
still  not  thinking  of  Jurgen  entirely :  "yes,  all  this  is  ex 
cellent  oratory,  and  not  for  a  moment  would  I  decry  the 
authority  of  Livonius.  And  your  quotation  is  uncom 
monly  apropos  and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  But  with  what 
are  you  charging  me?" 

"With  sentimental  weakness,"  retorted  Jurgen.  "Was 
it  not  only  yesterday  one  of  the  younger  devils  was 
brought  before  you,  upon  the  charge  that  he  had  said 
the  climate  in  Heaven  was  better  than  the  climate  here? 
And  you,  sir,  Hell's  chief  magistrate — you  it  was  who 
actually  asked  him  if  he  had  ever  uttered  such  a  disloyal 
heresy!" 

"Now,  but  what  else  was  I  to  do?"  said  Satan,  fidget 
ing,  and  swishing  his  great  bushy  tail  so  that  it  rustled 
against  his  horns,  and  still  not  really  turning  his  mind 
from  that  ancient  thought. 

"You  should  have  remembered,  sir,  that  a  devil  whose 
patriotism  is  impugned  is  a  devil  to  be  punished ;  and 
that  there  is  no  time  to  be  prying  into  irrevelant  questions 
of  his  guilt  or  innocence.  Otherwise,  I  take  it,  you  will 
never  have  any  real  democracy  in  Hell." 

Now  Jurgen  looked  very  impressive,  and  the  devils 
were  all  cheering  him. 

"And  so,"  says  Jurgen,  "your  disgusted  hearers  were 
wearied  by  such  frivolous  interrogatories,  and  took  the 
fellow  out  of  your  hands,  and  tore  him  into  particularly 
small  bits.  Now  I  warn  you,  Grandfather  Satan,  that  it 


AS  TO  APPLAUDED  PRECEDENTS       281 


is  your  duty  as  a  democratic  magistrate  just  so  to  deal 
with  such  offenders  first  of  all,  and  to  ask  your  silly 
questions  afterward.  For  what  does  Rudigernus  say 
outright  upon  this  point?  and  Zantipher  Magnus,  too? 
Why,  my  dear  sir,  I  ask  you  plainly,  where  in  the  entire 
history  of  international  jurisprudence  will  you  find  any 
more  explicit  language  than  these  two  employ?" 

"Now  certainly,"  says  Satan,  with  his  bleak  smile,  "you 
cite  very  respectable  authority :  and  I  shall  take  your  re 
proof  in  good  part.  I  will  endeavor  to  be  more  strict 
in  the  future.  And  you  must  not  blame  my  laxity  too 
severely,  Emperor  Jurgen,  for  it  is  a  long  while  since 
any  man  came  living  into  Hell  to  instruct  us  how  to 
manage  matters  in  time  of  war.  No  doubt,  precisely  as 
you  say,  we  do  need  a  little  more  severity  hereabouts, 
and  would  gain  by  adopting  more  human  methods.  Rudi 
gernus,  now? — yes,  Rudigernus  is  rather  unanswerable, 
and  I  concede  it  frankly.  So  do  you  come  home  and  have 
supper  with  me,  Emperor  Jurgen,  and  we  will  talk  over 
these  things." 

Then  Jurgen  went  off  arm  in  arm  with  Grandfather 
Satan,  and  Jurgen's  erudition  and  sturdy  common-sense 
were  forevermore  established  among  the  older  and  more 
solid  element  in  Hell.  And  Satan  followed  Jurgen's  sug 
gestions,  and  the  threatened  rebellion  was  satisfactorily 
discouraged,  by  tearing  into  very  small  fragments  any 
body  who  grumbled  about  anything.  So  that  all  the  sub 
jects  of  Satan  went  about  smiling  broadly  all  the  time 
at  the  thought  of  what  might  befall  them  if  they  seemed 
dejected.  Thus  was  Hell  a  happier  looking  place  be 
cause  of  Jurgen's  coming. 


39. 

Of  Compromises  in  Hell 


NOW  Grandfather  Satan's  wife  was  called  Phyllis : 
and  apart  from  having  wings  like  a  bat's,  she  was 
the  loveliest  little  slip  of  devilishness  that  Jurgen 
had  seen  in  a  long  while.     Jurgen  spent  this  night  at 
the  Black  House  of  Barathum,  and  two  more  nights,  or 
it  might  be  three  nights :  and  the  details  of  what  Jurgen 
used  to  do  there,  after  supper,  when  he  would  walk  alone 
in  the  Black  House  Gardens,  among  the  artfully  colored 
cast-iron  flowers  and  shrubbery,  and  would  so  come  to 
'   the  grated  windows  of  Phyllis's  room,  and  would  stand 
there  joking  with  her  in  the  dark,  are  not  requisite  to 
this  story. 

Satan  was  very  jealous  of  his  wife,  and  kept  one  of 
her  wings  clipped  and  held  her  under  lock  and  key,  as 
the  treasure  that  she  was.  But  Jurgen  was  accustomed 
to  say  afterward  that,  while  the  gratings  over  the 
windows  were  very  formidable,  they  only  seemed  some 
how  to  enhance  the  piquancy  of  his  commerce  with  Dame 
Phyllis.  This  queen,  said  Jurgen,  he  had  found  simply 
unexcelled  at  repartee. 

Florimel  considered  the  saying  cryptic :  just  what  pre 
cisely  did  his  majesty  mean? 

"Why,  that  in  any  and  all  circumstances  Dame  Phyllis 
282 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  HELL  283 


knows  how  to  take  a  joke,  and  to  return  as  good  as 
she  receives." 

"So  your  majesty  has  already  informed  me:  and  cer 
tainly  jokes  can  be  exchanged  through  a  grating — " 

"Yes,  that  was  what  I  meant.  And  Dame  Phyllis 
appeared  to  appreciate  my  ready  flow  of  humor.  She  in 
forms  me  Grandfather  Satan  is  of  a  cold  dry  tempera 
ment,  with  very  little  humor  in  him,  so  that  they  go  for 
months  without  exchanging  any  pleasantries.  Well,  I 
am  willing  to  taste  any  drink  once:  and  for  the  rest, 
remembering  that  my  host  had  very  enormous  and  in 
timidating  horns,  I  was  at  particular  pains  to  deal  fairly 
with  my  hostess.  Though,  indeed,  it  was  more  for  the 
honor  and  the  glory  of  the  affair  than  anything  else  that 
I  exchanged  pleasantries  with  Satan's  wife.  For  to  do 
that,  my  dear,  I  felt  was  worthy  of  the  Emperor  Jurgen." 

"Ah,  I  am  afraid  your  majesty  is  a  sad  scapegrace," 
replied  Florimel :  "however,  we  all  know  that  the  sceptre 
of  an  emperor  is  respected  everywhere." 

"Indeed/'  says  Jurgen,  "I  have  often  regretted  that  I 
did  not  bring  with  me  my  jewelled  sceptre  when  I  left 
Noumaria." 

She  shivered  at  some  unspoken  thought:  it  was  not 
until  some  while  afterward  that  Florimel  told  Jurgen  of 
her  humiliating  misadventure  with  the  absent-minded 
Sultan  of  Gargao's  sceptre.  Now  she  only  replied  that 
jewels  might,  conceivably,  seem  ostentatious  and  out  of 
place. 

Jurgen  agreed  to  this  truism:  for  of  course  they  were 
living  very  quietly,  and  Jurgen  was  splendid  enough  for 
any  reasonable  wife's  requirements,  in  his  glittering  shirt. 

So  Jurgen  got  on  pleasantly  with  Florimel.     But  he 


284  JURGEN 


never  became  as  fond  of  her  as  he  had  been  of  Guenevere 
or  Anaitis,  nor  one-tenth  as  fond  of  her  as  he  had  been 
of  Chloris.  In  the  first  place,  he  suspected  that  Florimel 
had  been  invented  by  his  father,  and  Coth  and  Jurgen 
had  never  any  tastes  in  common :  and  in  the  second  place, 
Jurgen  could  not  but  see  that  Florimel  thought  a  great 
deal  of  his  being  an  emperor. 

"It  is  my  title  she  loves,  not  me,"  reflected  Jurgen, 
sadly,  "and  her  affection  is  less  for  that  which  is  really 
integral  to  me  than  for  imperial  orbs  and  sceptres  and 
such-like  external  trappings." 

And  Jurgen  would  come  out  of  Florimel's  cleft  con 
siderably  dejected,  and  would  sit  alone  by  the  Sea  of 
Blood,  and  would  meditate  how  inequitable  it  was  that 
the  mere  title  of  emperor  should  thus  shut  him  off  from 
sincerity  and  candor. 

"We  who  are  called  kings  and  emperors  are  men  like 
other  men:  we  are  as  rightly  entitled  as  other  persons 
to  the  solace  of  true  love  and  affection:  instead,  we  live 
in  a  continuous  isolation,  and  women  offer  us  all  things 
save  their  hearts,  and  we  are  a  lonely  folk.  No,  I  can- 
not  believe  that  Florimel  loves  me  for  myself  alone:  it 
is  my  title  which  dazzles  her.  And  I  would  that  I  had 
never  made  myself  the  emperor  of  Noumaria:  for  this 
emperor  goes  about  everywhere  in  a  fabulous  splendor, 
and  is,  very  naturally,  resistless  in  his  semi-mythical  mag 
nificence.  Ah,  but  these  imperial  gewgaws  distract  the 
thoughts  of  Florimel  from  the  real  Jurgen;  so  that  the 
real  Jurgen  is  a  person  whom  she  does  not  understand  at 
all.  And  it  is  not  fair." 

Then,  too,  he  had  a  sort  of  prejudice  against  the  way 
in  which  Florimel  spent  her  time  in  seducing  and  mur- 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  HELL  285 


dering  young  men.  It  was  not  possible,  of  course,  actu 
ally  to  blame  the  girl,  since  she  was  the  victim  of  cir 
cumstances,  and  had  no  choice  about  becoming  a  vam 
pire,  once  the  cat  had  jumped  over  her  coffin.  Still, 
Jurgen  always  felt,  in  his  illogical  masculine  way,  that 
her  vocation  was  not  nice.  And  equally  in  the  illogical 
way  of  men,  did  he  persist  in  coaxing  Florimel  to  tell 
him  of  her  vampiric  transactions,  in  spite  of  his  under 
lying  feeling  that  he  would  prefer  to  have  his  wife 
engaged  in  some  other  trade :  and  the  merry  little  creature 
would  humor  him  willingly  enough,  with  her  purple 
eyes  a-sparkle,  and  with  her  vivid  lips  curling  prettily 
back,  so  as  to  show  her  tiny  white  sharp  teeth  quite 
plainly. 

She  was  really  very  pretty  thus,  as  she  told  him  of 
what  happened  in  Copenhagen  when  young  Count  Os 
mund  went  down  into  the  blind  beggar-woman's  cellar, 
and  what  they  did  with  bits  of  him;  and  of  how  one 
kind  of  serpent  came  to  have  a  secret  name,  which,  when 
cried  aloud  in  the  night,  with  the  appropriate  ceremony, 
will  bring  about  delicious  happenings ;  and  of  what  one 
can  do  with  small  unchristened  children,  if  only  they  do 
not  kiss  you,  with  their  moist  uncertain  little  mouths,  for 
then  this  thing  is  impossible ;  and  of  what  use  she  had 
made  of  young  Sir  Ganelon's  skull,  when  he  was  through 
with  it,  and  she  with  him ;  and  of  what  the  young  priest 
Wulfnoth  had  said  to  the  crocodiles  at  the  very  last. 

"Oh,  yes,  my  life  has  its  amusing  side,"  said  Florimel : 
"and  one  likes  to  feel,  of  course,  that  one  is  not  wholly 
out  of  touch  with  things,  and  is  even,  in  one's  modest  way, 
contributing  to  the  suppression  of  folly.  But  even  so, 
your  majesty,  the  calls  that  are  made  upon  one !  the 


286  JURGEN 


things  that  young  men  expect  of  you,  as  the  price  of 
their  bodily  and  spiritual  ruin !  and  the  things  their  rela 
tives  say  about  you!  and,  above  all,  the  constant  strain, 
the  irregular  hours,  and  the  continual  effort  to  live  up  to 
one's  position!  Oh,  yes,  your  majesty,  I  was  far  happier 
when  I  was  a  consumptive  seamstress  and  took  pride  in 
my  buttonholes.  But  from  a  sister-in-law  who  only  has 
you  in  to  tea  occasionally  as  a  matter  of  duty,  and  who 
is  prominent  in  church  work,  one  may,  of  course,  expect 
anything.  And  that  reminds  me  that  I  really  must  tell 
your  majesty  about  what  happened  in  the  hay-loft,  just 
after  the  abbot  had  finished  undressing — " 

So  she  would  chatter  away,  while  Jurgen  listened  and 
smiled  indulgently.  For  she  certainly  was  very  pretty. 
And  so  they  kept  house  in  Hell  contentedly  enough  until 
Florimers  vacation  was  at  an  end :  and  then  they  parted, 
without  any  tears  but  in  perfect  friendliness. 

And  Jurgen  always  remembered  Florimel  most  pleas 
antly,  but  not  as  a  wife  with  whom  he  had  ever  been  on 
terms  of  actual  intimacy. 

Now  when  this  lovely  Vampire  had  quitted  him,  the 
Emperor  Jurgen,  in  spite  of  his  general  popularity  and 
the  deference  accorded  his  political  views,  was  not  quite 
happy  in  Hell. 

"It  is  a  comfort,  at  any  rate,"  said  Jurgen,  "to  dis 
cover  who  originated  the  theory  of  democratic  govern 
ment.  I  have  long  wondered  who  started  the  notion  that 
the  way  to  get  a  wise  decision  on  any  conceivable  question 
was  to  submit  it  to  a  popular  vote.  Now  I  know.  Well, 
and  the  devils  may  be  right  in  their  doctrines ;  certainly 
I  cannot  go  so  far  as  to  say  they  are  wrong:  but  still, 
at  the  same  time — !" 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  HELL  287 


For  instance,  this  interminable  effort  to  make  the  uni 
verse  safe  for  democracy,  this  continual  warring  against 
Heaven  because  Heaven  clung  to  a  tyrannical  form  of 
autocratic  government,  sounded  both  logical  and  mag 
nanimous,  and  was,  of  course,  the  only  method  of  insuring 
any  general  triumph  for  democracy :  yet  it  seemed  rather 
futile  to  Jurgen,  since,  as  he  knew  now,  there  was  cer 
tainly  something  in  the  Celestial  system  which  made  for 
military  efficiency,  so  that  Heaven  usually  won.  More 
over,  Jurgen  could  not  get  over  the  fact  that  Hell  was 
just  a  notion  of  his  ancestors  with  which  Koshchei  had 
happened  to  fall  in :  for  Jurgen  had  never  much  patience 
with  antiquated  ideas,  particularly  when  anyone  put  them 
into  practice,  as  Koshchei  had  done. 

"Why,  this  place  appears  to  me  a  glaring  anachron 
ism/'  said  Jurgen,  brooding  over  the  fires  of  Chorasma : 
"and  its  methods  of  tormenting  conscientious  people  I 
cannot  but  consider  very  crude  indeed.  The  devils  are 
simple-minded  and  they  mean  well,  as  nobody  would 
dream  of  denying,  but  that  is  just  it :  for  hereabouts  is 
needed  some  more  pertinacious  and  efficiently  disagree 
able  person — " 

And  that,  of  course,  reminded  him  of  Dame  Lisa :  and 
so  it  was  the  thoughts  of  Jurgen  turned  again  to  doing 
the  manly  thing.  And  he  sighed,  and  went  among  the 
devils  tentatively  looking  and  inquiring  for  that  intrepid 
fiend  who  in  the  form  of  a  black  gentleman  had  carried 
off  Dame  Lisa.  But  a  queer  happening  befell,  and  it 
was  that  nowhere  could  Jurgen  find  the  black  gentleman, 
nor  did  any  of  the  devils  know  anything  about  him. 

"From  what  you  tell  us,  Emperor  Jurgen/'  said  they 


288  JURGEN 


ail,  "your  wife  was  an  acidulous  shrew,  and  the  sort  of 
woman  who  believes  that  whatever  she  does  is  right." 

"It  was  not  a  belief,"  says  Jurgen:  "it  was  a  mania 
with  the  poor  dear." 

"By  that  fact,  then,  she  is  forever  debarred  from  en 
tering  Hell." 

"You  tell  me  news,"  says  Jurgen,  "which  if  generally 
known  would  lead  many  husbands  into  vicious  living." 

"But  it  is  notorious  that  people  are  saved  by  faith. 
And  there  is  no  faith  stronger  than  that  of  a  bad-tempered 
woman  in  her  own  infallibility.  Plainly,  this  wife  of 
yours  is  the  sort  of  person  who  cannot  be  tolerated  by 
anybody  short  of  the  angels.  We  deduce  that  your  Em 
press  must  be  in  Heaven." 

"Well,  that  sounds  reasonable.  And  so  to  Heaven  I 
will  go,  and  it  may  be  that  there  I  shall  find  justice." 

"We  would  have  you  know,"  the  fiends  cried,  bristling, 
"that  in  Hell  we  have  all  kinds  of  justice,  since  our 
government  is  an  enlightened  democracy." 

"Just  so,"  says  Jurgen:  "in  an  enlightened  democracy 
one  has  all  kinds  of  justice,  and  I  would  not  dream  of 
denying  it.  But  you  have  not,  you  conceive,  that  lesser 
plague,  my  wife ;  and  it  is  she  whom  I  must  continue  to 
look  for." 

"Oh,  as  you  like,"  said  they,  "so  long  as  you  do  not 
criticize  the  exigencies  of  war-time.  But  certainly  we  are 
sorry  to  see  you  going  into  a  country  where  the  benighted 
people  put  up  with  an  autocrat  Who  was  not  duly  elected 
to  His  position.  And  why  need  you  continue  seeking  your 
wife's  society  when  it  is  so  much  pleasanter  living  in 
Hell?" 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  HELL  289 


And  Jurgen  shrugged.  "One  has  to  do  the  manly  thing 
sometimes." 

So  the  fiends  told  him  the  way  to  Heaven's  frontiers, 
pitying  him.  ''But  the  crossing  of  the  frontier  must  be 
your  affair." 

"I  have  a  cantrap,"  said  Jurgen ;  "and  my  stay  in  Hell 
has  taught  me  how  to  use  it." 

Then  Jurgen  followed  his  instructions,  and  went  into 
Meridie,  and  turned  to  the  left  when  he  had  come  to  the 
great  puddle  where  the  adders  and  toads  are  reared,  and 
so  passed  through  the  mists  of  Tartarus,  with  due  care 
of  the  wild  lightning,  and  took  the  second  turn  to  his 
left — "always  in  seeking  Heaven  be  guided  by  your  heart," 
had  been  the  advice  given  him  by  devils, — and  thus 
avoiding  the  abode  of  Jemra,  he  crossed  the  bridge  over 
the  Bottomless  Pit  and  the  solitary  Narakas.  And 
Brachus,  who  kept  the  toll-gate  on  this  bridge,  did  that 
of  which  the  fiends  had  forewarned  Jurgen :  but  for  this, 
of  course,  there  was  no  help. 


40. 

The  Ascension  of  Pope  Jurgen 


THE  tale  tells  how  on  the  feast  of  the  Annuncia 
tion  Jurgen  came  to  the  high  white  walls  which 
girdle  Heaven.    For  Jurgen's  forefathers  had,  of 
course,  imagined  that  Hell  stood  directly  contiguous  td 
Heaven,  so  that  the  blessed  could  augment  their  felicity 
by  gazing  down  upon  the  tortures  of  the  damned.    Now 
at  this  time  a  boy  angel  was  looking  over  the  parapet  of 
Heaven's  wall. 

"And  a  good  day  to  you,  my  fine  young  fellow/'  says 
Jurgen.  "But  of  what  are  you  thinking  so  intently?" 
For  just  as  Dives  had  done  long  years  before,  now  Jur 
gen  found  that  a  man's  voice  carries  perfectly  between 
Hell  and  Heaven. 

"Sir,"  replies  the  boy,  "I  was  pitying  the  poor  damned." 
"Why,    then,    you    must    be    Origen,"    says    Jurgen, 
laughing. 

"No,  sir,  my  name  is  Jurgen." 

"Heyday!"  says  Jurgen:  "well,  but  this  Jurgen  has 
been  a  great  many  persons  in  my  time.  So  very  possibly 
you  speak  the  truth." 

"I  am  Jurgen,  the  son  of  Coth  and  Azra." 
"Ah,  ah !  but  so  were  all  of  them,  my  boy." 
"Why,  then,  I  am  Jurgen,  the  grandson  of  Steinvor, 
and  the  grandchild  whom  she  loved  above  her  other 

290 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  POPE  JURGEN  291 

grandchildren:  and  so  I  abide  forever  in  Heaven  with 
all  the  other  illusions  of  Steinvor.  But  who,  messire, 
are  you  that  go  about  Hell  unscorched,  in  such  a  fine 
looking  shirt  ?" 

Jurgen  reflected.  Clearly  it  would  never  do  to  give  his 
real  name,  and  thus  raise  the  question  as  to  whether 
Jurgen  was  in  Heaven  or  Hell.  Then  he  recollected  the 
cantrap  of  the  Master  Philologist,  which  Jurgen  had 
twice  employed  incorrectly.  And  Jurgen  cleared  his 
throat,  for  he  believed  that  he  now  understood  the  proper 
use  of  cantraps. 

"Perhaps,"  says  Jurgen,  "I  ought  not  to  tell  you  who 
I  am.  But  what  is  life  without  confidence  in  one  an 
other?  Besides,  you  appear  a  boy  of  remarkable  dis 
cretion.  So  I  will  confide  in  you  that  I  am  Pope  John 
the  Twentieth,  Heaven's  regent  upon  Earth,  now  visiting 
this  place  upon  Celestial  business  which  I  am  not  at 
liberty  to  divulge  more  particularly,  for  reasons  that  will 
at  once  occur  to  a  young  man  of  your  unusual  cleverness." 

"Oh,  but  I  say!  that  is  droll.  Do  you  just  wait  a 
moment!"  cried  the  boy  angel. 

His  bright  face  vanished,  with  a  whisking  of  brown 
curls:  and  Jurgen  carefully  re-read  the  cantrap  of  the 
Master  Philologist.  "Yes,  I  have  found,  I  think,  the 
way  to  use  such  magic,"  observes  Jurgen. 

Presently  the  young  angel  re-appeared  at  the  parapet. 
"I  say,  messire!  I  looked  on  the  Register — all  popes  are 
admitted  here  the  moment  they  die,  without  inquiring 
into  their  private  affairs,  you  know,  so  as  to  avoid  any 
unfortunate  scandal, — and  we  have  twenty-three  Pope 
Johns  listed.  And  sure  enough,  the  mansion  prepared 


292  JURGEN 


for  John  the  Twentieth  is  vacant.  He  seems  to  be  the 
only  pope  that  is  not  in  Heaven." 

"Why,  but  of  course  not,"  says  Jurgen,  complacently, 
"inasmuch  as  you  see  me,  who  was  once  Bishop  of  Rome 
and  servant  to  the  servants  of  God,  standing  down  here  on 
this  cinder-heap." 

"Yes,  but  none  of  the  others  in  your  series  appears  to 
place  you.  John  the  Nineteenth  says  he  never  heard  of 
3^ou,  and  not  to  bother  him  in  the  middle  of  a  harp 
lesson — " 

"He  died  before  my  accession,  naturally." 

" — And  John  the  Twenty-first  says  he  thinks  they  lost 
count  somehow,  and  that  there  never  was  any  Pope  John 
the  Twentieth.  He  says  you  must  be  an  impostor." 

"Ah,  professional  jealousy !"  sighed  Jurgen :  "dear  me, 
this  is  very  sad,  and  gives  one  a  poor  opinion  of  human 
nature.  Now,  my  boy,  I  put  it  to  you  fairly,  how  could 
there  have  been  a  twenty-first  unless  there  had  been  a 
twentieth?  And  what  becomes  of  the  great  principle  of 
papal  infallibility  when  a  pope  admits  to  a  mistake  in 
elementary  arithmetic  ?  Oh,  but  this  is  a  very  dangerous 
heresy,  let  me  tell  you,  an  Inquisition  matter,  a  con 
sistory  business!  Yet,  luckily,  upon  his  own  contention, 
this  Pedro  Juliani — " 

"And  that  was  his  name,  too,  for  he  told  me!  You 
evidently  know  all  about  it,  messire,"  said  the  young 
angel,  visibly  impressed. 

"Of  course,  I  know  all  about  it.  Well,  I  repeat,  upon 
his  own  contention  this  man  is  non-existent,  and  so,  what 
ever  he  may  say  amounts  to  nothing.  For  he  tells  you 
there  was  never  any  Pope  John  the  Twentieth :  and  either 
he  is  lying  or  he  is  telling  you  the  truth.  If  he  is  lying, 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  POPE  JURGEN  293 


you,  of  course,  ought  not  to  believe  him:  yet,  if  he  is 
telling  you  the  truth,  about  there  never  having  been  any 
Pope  John  the  Twentieth,  why  then,  quite  plainly,  there 
was  never  any  Pope  John  the  Twenty-first,  so  that  this 
man  asserts  his  own  non-existence;  and  thus  is  talking 
nonsense,  and  you,  of  course,  ought  not  to  believe  in 
nonsense.  Even  did  we  grant  his  insane  contention  that 
he  is  nobody,  you  are  too  well  brought  up,  I  am  sure, 
to  dispute  that  nobody  tells  lies  in  Heaven :  it  follows 
that  in  this  case  nobody  is  lying;  and  so,  of  course,  I 
must  be  telling  the  truth,  and  you  have  no  choice  save  to 
believe  me." 

"Now,  certainly  that  sounds  all  right/'  the  younger 
Jurgen  conceded :  "though  you  explain  it  so  quickly  it  is 
a  little  difficult  to  follow  you.'7 

"Ah,  but  furthermore,  and  over  and  above  this,  and  as 
a  tangible  proof  of  the  infallible  particularity  of  every 
syllable  of  my  assertion,"  observes  the  elder  Jurgen,  "if 
you  will  look  in  the  garret  of  Heaven  you  will  find  the 
identical  ladder  upon  which  I  descended  hither,  and  which 
I  directed  them  to  lay  aside  until  I  was  ready  to  come  up 
again.  Indeed,  I  was  just  about  to  ask  you  to  fetch  it, 
inasmuch  as  my  business  here  is  satisfactorily  concluded." 

Well,  the  boy  agreed  that  the  word  of  no  pope,  whether 
in  Hell  or  Heaven,  was  tangible  proof  like  a  ladder :  and 
again  he  was  off.  Jurgen  waited,  in  tolerable  confidence. 

It  was  a  matter  of  logic.  Jacob's  Ladder  must  from 
all  accounts  have  been  far  too  valuable  to  throw  away 
after  one  night's  use  at  Beth-El;  it  would  come  in  very 
handy  on  Judgment  Day :  and  Jurgen's  knowledge  of  Lisa 
enabled  him  to  deduce  that  anything  which  was  being  kept 
because  it  would  come  in  handy  some  day  would  inevit- 


294  JURGEN 


ably  be  stored  in  the  garret,  in  any  establishment  imagin 
able  by  women.  "And  it  is  notorious  that  Heaven  is  a 
delusion  of  old  women.  Why,  the  thing  is  a  certainty," 
said  Jurgen ;  "simply  a  mathematical  certainty." 

And  events  proved  his  logic  correct :  for  presently  the 
younger  Jurgen  came  back  with  Jacob's  Ladder,  which 
was  rather  cobwebby  and  obsolete  looking  after  having 
been  laid  aside  so  long... 

"So  you  see  you  were  perfectly  right,"  then  said  this 
younger  Jurgen,  as  he  lowered  Jacob's  Ladder  into  Hell. 
"Oh,  Messire  John,  do  hurry  up  and  have  it  out  with  that 
old  fellow  who  slandered  you!'* 

Thus  it  came  about  that  Jurgen  clambered  merrily  from 
Hell  to  Heaven  upon  a  ladder  of  unalloyed,  time-tested 
gold:  and  as  he  climbed  the  shirt  of  Nessus  glittered 
handsomely  in  the  light  which  shone  from  Heaven:  and 
by  this  great  light  above  him,  as  Jurgen  mounted  higher 
and  yet  higher,  the  shadow  of  Jurgen  was  lengthened 
beyond  belief  along  the  sheer  white  wall  of  Heaven,  as 
though  the  shadow  were  reluctant  and  adhered  ten 
aciously  to  Hell.  Yet  presently  Jurgen  leaped  the  ram 
parts:  and  then  the  shadow  leaped  too;  and  so  his 
shadow  came  with  Jurgen  into  Heaven,  and  huddled 
dispiritedly  at  Jurgen's  feet. 

"Well,  well !"  thinks  Jurgen,  "certainly  there  is  no  dis 
puting  the  magic  of  the  Master  Philologist  when  it  is 
correctly  employed.  For  through  its  aid  I  am  entering 
alive  into  Heaven,  as  only  Enoch  and  Elijah  have  done 
before  me:  and  moreover,  if  this  boy  is  to  be  believed, 
one  of  the  very  handsomest  of  Heaven's  many  mansions 
awaits  my  occupancy.  One  could  not  ask  more  of  any 
magician  fairly.  Aha,  if  only  Lisa  could  see  me  now!" 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  POPE  JURGEN  295 


That  was  his  first  thought.  Afterward  Jurgen  tore 
up  the  cantrap  and  scattered  its  fragments  as  the  Master 
Philologist  had  directed.  Then  Jurgen  turned  to  the 
boy  who  aided  Jurgen  to  get  into  Heaven. 

"Come,  youngster,  and  let  us  have  a  good  look  at  you !" 

And  Jurgen  talked  with  the  boy  that  he  had  once  been, 
and  stood  face  to  face  with  all  that  Jurgen  had  been 
and  was  not  any  longer.  And  this  was  the  one  happening 
which  befell  Jurgen  that  the  writer  of  the  tale  lacked 
heart  to  tell  of. 

So  Jurgen  quitted  the  boy  that  he  had  been.  But  first 
had  Jurgen  learned  that  in  this  place  his  grandmother 
Steinvor  (whom  King  Smoit  had  loved)  abode  and  was 
happy  in  her  notion  of  Heaven;  and  that  about  her  were 
her  notions  of  her  children  and  of  her  grandchildren. 
Steinvor  had  never  imagined  her  husband  in  Heaven,  nor 
King  Smoit  either. 

"That  is  a  circumstance,"  says  Jurgen,  "which  heartens 
me  to  hope  one  may  find  justice  here.  Yet  I  shall  keep 
away  from  my  grandmother,  the  Steinvor  whom  I  knew 
and  loved,  and  who  loved  me  so  blindly  that  this  boy  here 
is  her  notion  of  me.  Yes,  in  mere  fairness  to  her,  I  must 
keep  away/' 

So  he  avoided  that  part  of  Heaven  wherein  were  his 
grandmother's  illusions:  and  this  was  counted  for 
righteousness  in  Jurgen.  That  part  of  Heaven  smelt  of 
mignonette,  and  a  starling  was  singing  there. 


41 

Of  Compromises  in  Heaven 


JURGEN  then  went  unhindered  to  where  the  God  of 
Jurgen's  grandmother  sat  upon  a  throne,  beside  a 
sea  of  crystal.  A  rainbow,  made  high  and  narrow 
like  a  window  frame,  so  as  to  fit  the  throne,  formed  an 
arch- way  in  which  He  sat:  at  His  feet  burned  seven 
lamps,  and  four  remarkable  winged  creatures  sat  there 
chaunting  softly,  "Glory  and  honor  and  thanks  to  Him 
Who  liveth  forever!"  In  one  hand  of  the  God  was  a 
sceptre,  and  in  the  other  a  large  book  with  seven  red 
spots  on  it. 

There  were  twelve  smaller  thrones,  without  rainbows, 
upon  each  side  of  the  God  of  Jurgen's  grandmother,  in 
two  semi-circles :  upon  these  inferior  thrones  sat  benig 
nant-looking  elderly  angels,  with  long  white  hair,  all 
crowned,  and  clothed  in  white  robes,  and  having  a  harp 
in  one  hand,  and  in  the  other  a  gold  flask,  about  pint 
size.  And  everywhere  fluttered  and  glittered  the  multi 
colored  wings  of  seraphs  and  cherubs,  like  magnified 
paroquets,  as  they  went  softly  and  gaily  about  the  golden 
haze  that  brooded  over  Heaven,  to  a  continuous  sound 
of  hushed  organ  music  and  a  remote  and  undistinguish- 
able  singing. 

Now  the  eyes  of  this  God  met  the  eyes  of  Jurgen: 

296 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  HEAVEN  297 


and  Jurgen  waited  thus  for  a  long  while,  and  far  longer, 
indeed,  than  Jurgen  suspected. 

"I  fear  You,"  Jurgen  said,  at  last:  "and,  yes,  I  love 
You:  and  yet  I  cannot  believe.  Why  could  You  not  let 
me  believe,  where  so  many  believed  ?  Or  else,  why  could 
You  not  let  me  deride,  as  the  remainder  derided  so 
noisily?  O  God,  why  could  You  not  let  me  have  faith? 
for  You  gave  me  no  faith  in  anything,  not  even  in 
nothingness.  It  was  not  fair." 

And  in  the  highest  court  of  Heaven,  and  in  plain  view 
of  all  the  angels,  Jurgen  began  to  weep. 

"I  was  not  ever  your  God,  Jurgen." 

"Once  very  long  ago,"  said  Jurgen,  "I  had  faith  in 
You." 

"No,  for  that  boy  is  here  with  Me,  as  you  yourself 
have  seen.  And  to-day  there  is  nothing  remaining  of 
him  anywhere  in  the  man  that  is  Jurgen." 

"God  of  my  grandmother!  God  Whom  I  too  loved  in 
boyhood!"  said  Jurgen  then:  "why  is  it  that  I  am  denied 
a  God?  For  I  have  searched:  and  nowhere  can  I  find 
justice,  and  nowhere  can  I  find  anything  to  worship." 

"What,  Jurgen,  and  would  you  look  for  justice,  of 
all  places,  in  Heaven?" 

"No,"  Jurgen  said;  "no,  I  perceive  it  cannot  be  con 
sidered  here.  Else  You  would  sit  alone." 

"And  for  the  rest,  you  have  looked  to  find  your  God 
without,  not  looking  within  to  see  that  which  is  truly 
worshipped  in  the  thoughts  of  Jurgen.  Had  you  done 
so,  you  would  have  seen,  as  plainly  as  I  now  see,  that 
which  alone  you  are  able  to  worship.  And  your  God  is 
maimed :  the  dust  of  your  journeying  is  thick  upon  him : 
your  vanity  is  laid  as  a  napkin  upon  his  eyes:  and  in 


298  JURGEN 


his  heart  is  neither  love  nor  hate,  not  even  for  his  only 
worshipper." 

"Do  not  deride  him,  You  Who  have  so  many  worship 
pers  !  At  least,  he  is  a  monstrous  clever  fellow,"  said 
Jurgen:  and  boldly  he  said  it,  in  the  highest  court  of 
Heaven,  and  before  the  pensive  face  of  the  God  of 
Jurgen's  grandmother. 

"Ah,  very  probably.  I  do  not  meet  with  many  clever 
people.  And  as  for  My  numerous  worshippers,  you 
forget  how  often  you  have  demonstrated  that  I  was  the 
delusion  of  an  old  woman/' 

"Well,  and  was  there  ever  a  flaw  in  my  logic  ?" 

"I  was  not  listening  to  you,  Jurgen.  You  must  know 
that  logic  does  not  much  concern  us,  inasmuch  as  nothing 
is  logical  hereabouts." 

And  now  the  four  winged  creatures  ceased  their 
chaunting,  and  the  organ  music  became  a  far-off  mur 
muring.  And  there  was  silence  in  Heaven.  And  the 
God  of  Jurgen's  grandmother,  too,  was  silent  for  a  while, 
and  the  rainbow  under  which  He  sat  put  off  its  seven 
colors  and  burned  with  an  unendurable  white,  tinged 
bluishly,  while  the  God  considered  ancient  things.  Then 
in  the  silence  this  God  began  to  speak. 

Some  years  ago  (said  the  God  of  Jurgen's  grand 
mother)  it  was  reported  to  Koshchei  that  scepticism  was 
abroad  in  his  universe,  and  that  one  walked  therein  who 
would  be  contented  with  no  rational  explanation.  "Bring 
me  this  infidel,"  says  Koshchei :  so  they  brought  to  him 
in  the  void  a  little  bent  gray  woman  in  an  old  gray 
shawl.  "Now,  tell  me  why  you  will  not  believe,"  says 
Koshchei,  "in  things  as  they  are." 

Then  the   decent   little   bent   gray  woman  answered 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  HEAVEN  299 


civilly;  "I  do  not  know,  sir,  who  you  may  happen  to  be. 
But,  since  you  ask  me,  everybody  knows  that  things  as 
they  are  must  be  regarded  as  temporary  afflictions,  and 
as  trials  through  which  we  are  righteously  condemned 
to  pass,  in  order  to  attain  to  eternal  life  with  our  loved 
ones  in  Heaven." 

"Ah,  yes,"  said  Koshchei,  who  made  things  as  they 
are ;  "ah,  yes,  to  be  sure !  and  how  did  you  learn  of  this  ?" 

"Why,  every  Sunday  morning  the  priest  discoursed  to 
us  about  Heaven,  and  of  how  happy  we  would  be  there 
after  death." 

"Has  this  woman  died,  then  ?"  asked  Koshchei. 

"Yes,  sir,"  they  told  him, — "recently.  And  she  will 
believe  nothing  we  explain  to  her,  but  demands  to  be  taken 
to  Heaven." 

"Now,  this  is  very  vexing,"  Koshchei  said,  "and  I 
cannot,  of  course,  put  up  with  such  scepticism.  That 
would  never  do.  So  why  do  you  not  convey  her  to 
this  Heaven  which  she  believes  in,  and  thus  put  an  end  to 
the  matter?" 

"But,  sir,"  they  told  him,  "there  is  no  such  place." 

Then  Koshchei  reflected.  "It  is  certainly  strange  that 
a  place  which  does  not  exist  should  be  a  matter  of  public 
knowledge  in  another  place.  Where  does  this  woman 
come  from?" 

"From  Earth,"  they  told  him. 

"Where  is  that  ?"  he  asked :  and  they  explained  to  him 
as  well  as  they  could. 

"Oh,  yes,  over  that  way,"  Koshchei  interrupted.  "I 
remember.  Now — but  what  is  your  name,  woman  who 
wish  to  go  to  Heaven?" 

"Steinvor,  sir:  and  if  you  please  I  am  rather  in  a 


300  JURGEN 


hurry  to  be  with  my  children  again.  You  see,  I  have 
not  seen  any  of  them  for  a  long  while/' 

"But  stay,"  said  Koshchei :  "what  is  that  which  comes 
into  this  woman's  eyes  as  she  speaks  of  her  children?" 
They  told  him  it  was  love. 

"Did  I  create  this  love?"  says  Koshchei,  who  made 
things  as  they  are.  And  they  told  him,  no:  and  that 
there  were  many  sorts  of  love,  but  that  this  especial  sort 
was  an  illusion  which  women  had  invented  for  them 
selves,  and  which  they  exhibited  in  all  dealings  with  their 
children.  And  Koshchei  sighed. 

"Tell  me  about  your  children,"  Koshchei  then  said 
to  Steinvor :  "and  look  at  me  as  you  talk,  so  that  I  may 
see  your  eyes." 

So  Steinvor  talked  of  her  children:  and  Koshchei, 
who  made  all  things,  listened  very  attentively.  Of  Coth 
she  told  him,  of  her  only  son,  confessing  Coth  was  the 
finest  boy  that  ever  lived, — "a  little  wild,  sir,  at  first, 
but  then  you  know  what  boys  are/' — and  telling  of  how 
well  Coth  had  done  in  business  and  of  how  he  had  even 
risen  to  be  an  alderman.  Koshchei,  who  made  all  things, 
seemed  properly  impressed.  Then  Steinvor  talked  of 
her  daughters,  of  Imperia  and  Lindamira  and  Christine: 
of  Imperia's  beauty,  and  of  Lindamira's  bravery  under 
the  mishaps  of  an  unlucky  marriage,  and  of  Christine's 
superlative  housekeeping.  "Fine  women,  sir,  every  one 
of  them,  with  children  of  their  own !  and  to  me  they  still 
seem  such  babies,  bless  them!"  And  the  decent  little 
bent  gray  woman  laughed.  "I  have  been  very  lucky  in 
my  children,  sir,  and  in  my  grandchildren,  too,"  she  told 
Koshchei.  "There  is  Jurgen,  now,  my  Coth's  boy!  You 
may  rot  believe  it,  sir,  but  there  is  a  story  I  must  tell 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  HEAVEN  301 


you  about  Jurgen — "  So  she  ran  on  very  happily  and 
proudly,  while  Koshchei,  who  made  all  things,  listened, 
and  watched  the  eyes  of  Steinvor. 

Then  privately  Koshchei  asked,  "Are  these  children 
and  grandchildren  of  Steinvor  such  as  she  reports?" 

"No,  sir,"  they  told  him  privately. 

So  as  Steinvor  talked  Koshchei  devised  illusions  in 
accordance  with  that  which  Steinvor  said,  and  created 
such  children  and  grandchildren  as  she  described.  Male 
and  female  he  created  them  standing  behind  Steinvor, 
and  all  were  beautiful  and  stainless :  and  Koshchei  gave 
life  to  these  illusions. 

Then  Koshchei  bade  her  turn  about.  She  obeyed: 
and  Koshchei  was  forgotten. 

Well,  Koshchei  sat  there  alone  in  the  void,  looking  not 
very  happy,  and  looking  puzzled,  and  drumming  upon  his 
knee,  and  staring  at  the  little  bent  gray  woman,  who 
was  busied  with  her  children  and  grandchildren,  and  had 
forgotten  all  about  him.  "But  surely,  Lindamira,"  he 
hears  Steinvor  say,  "we  are  not  yet  in  Heaven." — "Ah, 
my  dear  mother,"  replies  her  illusion  of  Lindamira,  "to 
be  with  you  again  is  Heaven:  and  besides,  it  may  be 
that  Heaven  is  like  this,  after  all." — "My  darling  child, 
it  is  sweet  of  you  to  say  that,  and  exactly  like  you  to 
say  that.  But  you  know  very  well  that  Heaven  is  fully 
described  in  the  Book  of  Revelations,  in  the  Bible,  as 
the  glorious  place  that  Heaven  is.  Whereas,  as  you  can 
see  for  yourself,  around  us  is  nothing  at  all,  and  no  per 
son  at  all  except  that  very  civil  gentleman  to  whom 
I  was  just  talking;  and  who,  between  ourselves,  seems 
woefully  uninformed  about  the  most  ordinary  matters." 

"Bring  Earth  to  me,"  says  Koshchei.    This  was  done, 


302  JURGEN 


and  Koshchei  looked  over  the  planet,  and  found  a  Bible. 
Koshchei  opened  the  Bible,  and  read  the  Revelation  of 
St.  John  the  Divine,  while  Steinvor  talked  with  her 
illusions.  "I  see,"  said  Koshchei.  "The  idea  is  a  little 
garish.  Still — !"  So  he  replaced  the  Bible,  and  bade 
them  put  Earth,  too,  in  its  proper  place,  for  Koshchei 
dislikes  wasting  anything.  Then  Koshchei  smiled  and 
created  Heaven  about  Steinvor  and  her  illusions,  and 
he  made  Heaven  just  such  a  place  as  was  described 
in  the  book. 

"And  so,  Jurgen,  that  was  how  it  came  about,"  ended 
the  God  of  Jurgen's  grandmother.  "And  Me  also  Kosh 
chei  created  at  that  time,  with  the  seraphim  and  the 
saints  and  all  the  blessed,  very  much  as  you  see  us :  and, 
of  course,  he  caused  us  to  have  been  here  always,  since 
the  beginning  of  time,  because  that,  too,  was  in  the 
book." 

"But  how  could  that  be  done?"  says  Jurgen,  with 
brows  puckering.  "And  in  what  way  could  Koshchei 
juggle  so  with  time?" 

"How  should  I  know,  since  I  am  but  the  illusion  of 
an  old  woman,  as  you  have  so  frequently  proved  by  logic  ? 
Let  it  suffice  that  whatever  Koshchei  wills,  not  only 
happens,  but  has  already  happened  beyond  the  ancientest 
memory  of  man  and  his  mother.  How  otherwise  could 
he  be  Koshchei?" 

"And  all  this,"  said  Jurgen,  virtuously,  "for  a  woman 
who  was  not  even  faithful  to  her  husband!" 

"Oh,  very  probably !"  said  the  God :  "at  all  events,  it 
was  done  for  a  woman  who  loved.  Koshchei  will  do 
almost  anything  to  humor  love,  since  love  is  one  of  the 
two  things  which  are  impossible  to  Koshchei." 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  HEAVEN  303 


"I  have  heard  that  pride  is  impossible  to  Koshchei — " 

The  God  of  Jurgen's  grandmother  raised  His  white 
eyebrows.  "What  is  pride  ?  I  do  not  think  I  ever  heard 
of  it  before.  Assuredly  it  is  something  that  does  not 
enter  here." 

"But  why  is  love  impossible  to  Koshchei?" 

"Because  Koshchei  made  things  as  they  are,  and  day 
and  night  he  contemplates  things  as  they  are.  How,  then, 
can  Koshchei  love  anything?" 

But  Jurgen  shook  his  sleek  black  head.  "That  I 
cannot  understand  at  all.  If  I  were  imprisoned  in  a 
cell  wherein  was  nothing  except  my  verses  I  would  not  be 
happy,  and  certainly  I  would  not  be  proud:  but  even 
so,  I  would  love  my  verses.  I  am  afraid  that  I  fall  in 
more  readily  with  the  ideas  of  Grandfather  Satan  than 
with  Yours;  and  without  contradicting  You,  I  cannot 
but  wonder  if  what  You  reveal  is  true." 

"And  how  should  I  know  whether  or  not  I  speak 
the  truth?"  the  God  asked  of  him,  "since  I  am  but  the 
illusion  of  an  old  woman,  as  you  have  so  frequently 
proved  by  logic." 

"Well,  well!"  said  Jurgen,  "You  may  be  right  in  all 
matters,  and  certainly  I  cannot  presume  to  say  You  are 
wrong:  but  still,  at  the  same  time — !  No,  even  now 
I  do  not  quite  believe  in  You." 

"Who  could  expect  it  of  a  clever  fellow,  who  sees 
so  clearly  through  the  illusions  of  old  women?"  the  God 
asked,  a  little  wearily. 

And  Jurgen  answered: 

"God  of  my  grandmother,  I  cannot  quite  believe  in 
You,  and  Your  doings  as  they  are  recorded  I  find  in 
coherent  and  a  little  droll.  But  I  am  glad  the  affair 


304  JURGEN 


has  been  so  arranged  that  You  may  always  now  be  real 
to  brave  and  gentle  persons  who  have  believed  in  and 
have  worshipped  and  have  loved  You.  To  have  disap 
pointed  them  would  have  been  unfair:  and  it  is  right 
that  before  the  faith  they  had  in  You  not  even  Koshchei 
who  made  things  as  they  are  was  able  to  be  reasonable. 

"God  of  my  grandmother,  I  cannot  quite  believe  in 
You;  but  remembering  the  sum  of  love  and  faith  that 
has  been  given  You,  I  tremble.  I  think  of  the  dear 
people  whose  living  was  confident  and  glad  because  of 
their  faith  in  You:  I  think  of  them,  and  in  my  heart 
contends  a  blind  contrition,  and  a  yearning,  and  an 
enviousness,  and  yet  a  tender  sort  of  amusement  colors 
all.  Oh,  God,  there  was  never  any  other  deity  who 
had  such  dear  worshippers  as  You  have  had,  and  You 
should  be  very  proud  of  them. 

"God  of  my  grandmother,  I  cannot  quite  believe  in 
You,  yet  I  am  not  as  those  who  would  come  peering 
at  You  reasonably.  I,  Jurgen,  see  You  only  through  a 
mist  of  tears.  For  You  were  loved  by  those  whom  I 
loved  greatly  very  long  ago:  and  when  I  look  at  You 
it  is  Your  worshippers  and  the  dear  believers  of  old 
that  I  remember.  And  it  seems  to  me  that  dates  and 
manuscripts  and  the  opinions  of  learned  persons  are 
very  trifling  things  beside  what  I  remember,  and  what 
I  envy!" 

"Who  could  have  expected  such  a  monstrous  clever 
fellow  ever  to  envy  the  illusions  of  old  women?"  the 
God  of  Jurgen's  grandmother  asked  again:  and  yet  His 
countenance  was  not  unfriendly. 

"Why,  but,"  said  Jurgen,  on  a  sudden,  "  why,  but  my 
grandmother — in  a  way — was  right  about  Heaven  and 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  HEAVEN  305 


about  You  also.  For  certainly  You  seem  to  exist,  and 
to  reign  in  just  such  estate  as  she  described.  And  yet, 
according  to  Your  latest  revelation,  I  too  was  right — 
in  a  way — about  these  things  being  an  old  woman's 
delusions.  I  wonder  now — ?" 

"Yes,  Jurgen?" 

"Why,  I  wonder  if  everything  is  right,  in  a  way?  J. 
wonder  if  that  is  the  large  secret  of  everything?  It 
would  not  be  a  bad  solution,  sir,"  said  Jurgen,  medita.- 
tively. 

The  God  smiled.  Then  suddenly  that  part  of  Heaven 
was  vacant,  except  for  Jurgen,  who  stood  there  quite 
alone.  And  before  him  was  the  throne  of  the  vanished 
God  and  the  sceptre  of  the  God,  and  Jurgen  saw  that 
the  seven  spots  upon  the  great  book  were  of  red  sealing- 
wax. 

Jurgen  was  afraid:  but  he  was  particularly  appalled 
by  his  consciousness  that  he  was  not  going  to  falter. 
"What,  you  who  have  been  duke  and  prince  and  king 
and  emperor  and  pope!  and  do  such  dignities  content 
a  Jurgen  ?  Why,  not  at  all,"  says  Jurgen. 

So  Jurgen  ascended  the  throne  of  Heaven,  and  sat 
beneath  that  wondrous  rainbow :  and  in  his  lap  now  was 
the  book,  and  in  his  hand  was  the  sceptre,  of  the  God 
of  Jurgen's  grandmother. 

Jurgen  sat  thus,  for  a  long  while  regarding  the  bright 
vacant  courts  of  Heaven.  "And  what  will  you  do  now  ?" 
says  Jurgen,  aloud.  "Oh,  fretful  little  Jurgen,  you  that 
have  complained  because  you  had  not  your  desire,  you 
are  omnipotent  over  Earth  and  all  the  affairs  of  men. 
What  now  is  your  desire?"  And  sitting  thus  terribly 
enthroned,  the  heart  of  Jurgen  was  as  lead  within  him, 


306  JURGEN 


and  he  felt  old  and  very  tired.  "For  I  do  not  know. 
Oh,  nothing  can  help  me,  for  I  do  not  know  what  thing 
it  is  that  I  desire!  And  this  book  and  this  sceptre  and 
this  throne  avail  me  nothing  at  all,  and  nothing  can 
ever  avail  me:  for  I  am  Jurgen  who  seeks  he  knows 
not  what." 

So  Jurgen  shrugged,  and  climbed  down  from  the 
throne  of  the  God,  and  wandering  at  adventure,  came 
presently  to  four  archangels.  They  were  seated  upon 
a  fleecy  cloud,  and  they  were  eating  milk  and  honey 
from  gold  porringers :  and  of  these  radiant  beings  Jurgen 
inquired  the  quickest  way  out  of  Heaven. 

"For  hereabouts  are  none  of  my  illusions,"  said  Jurgen, 
"and  I  must  now  return  to  such  illusions  as  are  con 
genial.  One  must  believe  in  something.  And  all  that  I 
have  seen  in  Heaven  I  have  admired  and  envied,  but 
in  none  of  these  things  could  I  believe,  and  with  none 
of  these  things  could  I  be  satisfied.  And  while  I  think 
of  it,  I  wonder  now  if  any  of  you  gentlemen  can  give 
me  news  of  that  Lisa  who  used  to  be  my  wife?" 

He  described  her;  and  they  regarded  him  with  com^ 
passion. 

But  these  archangels,  he  found,  had  never  heard  of 
Lisa,  and  they  assured  him  there  was  no  such  person 
in  Heaven.  For  Steinvor  had  died  when  Jurgen  was  a 
boy,  and  so  she  had  never  seen  Lisa ;  and  in  conse 
quence,  had  not  thought  about  Lisa  one  way  or  the  other, 
when  Steinvor  outlined  her  notions  to  Koshchei  who 
made  things  as  they  are. 

Now  Jurgen  discovered,  too,  that,  when  his  eyes  first 
met  the  eyes  of  the  God  of  Jurgen's  grandmother,  Jurgen 
had  stayed  motionless  for  thirty-seven  days,  forgetful 


OF  COMPROMISES  IN  HEAVEN  307 


of  everything  save  that  the  God  of  his  grandmother  was 
love. 

"Nobody  else  has  willingly  turned  away  so  soon," 
Zachariel  told  him :  "and  we  think  that  your  insensibility 
is  due  to  some  evil  virtue  in  the  glittering  garment  which 
you  are  wearing,  and  of  which  the  like  was  never  seen 
in  Heaven." 

"I  did  but  search  for  justice,"  Jurgen  said:  "and  I 
could  not  find  it  in  the  eyes  of  your  God,  but  only  love 
and  such  forgiveness  as  troubled  me." 

"Because  of  that  should  you  rejoice,"  the  four  arch 
angels  said;  "and  so  should  all  that  lives  rejoice:  and 
more  particularly  should  we  rejoice  that  dwell  in  Heaven, 
and  hourly  praise  our  Lord  God's  negligence  of  justice, 
whereby  we  are  permitted  to  enter  into  this  place." 


42. 

Twelve  That  are  Fretted  Hourly 


SO  it  was  upon  Walburga's  Eve,  when  almost  any 
thing  is  rather  more  than  likely  to  happen,  that 
Jurgen  went  hastily  out  of  Heaven,  without  having 
gained  or  wasted  any  love  there.  St.  Peter  unbarred 
for  him,  not  the  main  entrance,  but  a  small  private  door, 
carved  with  innumerable  fishes  in  bas-relief,  because 
this  exit  opened  directly  upon  any  place  you  chose  to 
imagine. 

"For  thus,"  St.  Peter  said,  "you  may  return  without 
loss  of  time  to  your  own  illusions." 

"There  was  a  cross,"  said  Jurgen,  "which  I  used  to 
wear  about  my  neck,  through  motives  of  sentiment,  be 
cause  it  once  belonged  to  my  dead  mother.  For  no 
woman  has  ever  loved  me  save  that  Azra  who  was  my 
mother—" 

"I  wonder  if  your  mother  told  you  that?"  St.  Peter 
asked  him,  smiling  reminiscently.  "Mine  did,  time  and 
again.  And  sometimes  I  have  wondered — ?  For,  as 
you  may  remember,  I  was  a  married  man,  Jurgen:  and 
my  wife  did  not  quite  understand  me,"  said  St.  Peter, 
with  a  sigh. 

"Why,  indeed,"  says  Jurgen,  "my  case  is  not  entirely 
dissimilar :  and  the  more  I  marry,  the  less  I  find  of  com 
prehension.  I  should  have  had  more  sympathy  with  King 

308 


TWELVE  THAT  ARE  FRETTED  HOURLY         309 


Smoit,  who  was  certainly  my  grandfather.  Well,  you  con 
ceive,  St.  Peter,  these  other  women  have  trusted  me,  more 
or  less,  because  they  loved  a  phantom  Jurgen.  But  Azra 
trusted  me  not  at  all,  because  she  loved  me  with  clear 
eyes.  She  comprehended  Jurgen,  and  yet  loved  him: 
though  I  for  one,  with  all  my  cleverness,  cannot  do  either 
of  these  things.  None  the  less,  in  order  to  do  the  manly 
thing,  in  order  to  pleasure  a  woman, — and  a  married 
woman,  too ! — I  flung  away  the  little  gold  cross  which  was 
all  that  remained  to  me  of  my  mother:  and  since  then, 
St.  Peter,  the  illusions  of  sentiment  have  given  me  a 
woefully  wide  berth.  So  I  shall  relinquish  Heaven  to 
seek  a  cross." 

"That  has  been  done  before,  Jurgen,  and  I  doubt  if     \ 
much  good  came  of  it." 

"Heyday,  and  did  it  not  lead  to  the  eternal  glory  of 
the  first  and  greatest  of  the  popes  ?  It  seems  to  me,  sir, 
that  you  have  either  very  little  memory  or  very  little 
gratitude,  and  I  am  tempted  to  crow  in  your  face." 

"Why,  now  you  talk  like  a  cherub,  Jurgen,  and  you 
ought  to  have  better  manners.  Do  you  suppose  that  we 
Apostles  enjoy  hearing  jokes  made  about  the  Church  ?V 

"Well,  it  is  true,  St.  Peter,  that  you  founded  the 
Church—" 

"Now,  there  you  go  again!  That  is  what  those 
patronizing  seraphim  and  those  impish  cherubs  are  always 
telling  us.  You  see,  we  Twelve  sit  together  in  Heaven, 
each  on  his  white  throne :  and  we  behold  everything  that 
happens  on  Earth.  Now  from  our  station  there  has  been 
no  ignoring  the  growth  and  doings  of  what  you  might 
loosely  call  Christianity.  And  sometimes  that  which  we 
see  makes  us  very  uncomfortable,  Jurgen.  Especially  as 


310  JURGEN 


just  then  some  cherub  is  sure  to  flutter  by,  in  a  broad 
grin,  and  chuckle,  'But  you  started  it.'  And  we  did; 
I  cannot  deny  that  in  a  way  we  did.  Yet  really  we 
never  anticipated  anything  of  this  sort,  and  it  is  not 
fair  to  tease  us  about  it." 

"Indeed,  St.  Peter,  now  I  think  of  it,  you  ought  to 
be  held  responsible  for  very  little  that  has  been  said 
or  done  in  the  shadow  of  a  steeple.  For  as  I  remember 
it,  you  Twelve  attempted  to  convert  a  world  to  the  teach 
ings  of  Jesus :  and  good  intentions  ought  to  be  respected, 
however  drolly  they  may  turn  out." 

It  was  apparent  this  sympathy  was  grateful  to  the  old 
Saint,  for  he  was  moved  to  a  more  confidential  tone. 
Meditatively  he  stroked  his  long  white  beard,  then  said 
with  indignation :  "If  only  they  would  not  claim  sib  with 
us  we  could  stand  it:  but  as  it  is,  for  centuries  we  have 
felt  like  fools.  It  is  particularly  embarrassing  for  me, 
of  course,  being  on  the  wicket ;.  for  to  cap  it  all,  Jurgen, 
the  little  wretches  die,  and  come  to  Heaven  impudent  as 
sparrows,  and  expect  me  to  let  them  in!  From  their 
thumbscrewings,  and  their  auto-da-fes,  and  from  their 
massacres,  and  patriotic  sermons,  and  holy  wars,  and 
from  every  manner  of  abomination,  they  come  to  me, 
smirking.  And  millions  upon  millions  of  them,  Jurgen ! 
There  is  no  form  of  cruelty  or  folly  that  has  not  come  to 
me  for  praise,  and  no  sort  of  criminal  idiot  who  has  not 
claimed  fellowship  with  me,  who  was  an  Apostle  and  a 
gentleman.  Why,  Jurgen,  you  may  not  believe  it,  but  there 
was  an  eminent  bishop  came  to  me  only  last  week  in  the 
expectation  that  I  was  going  to  admit  him, — and  I  with 
the  full  record  of  his  work  for  temperance,  all  fairly 
written  out  and  in  my  hand  \" 


TWELVE  THAT  ARE  FRETTED  HOURLY         311 


Now  Jurgen  was  surprised.  "But  temperance  is  surely 
a  virtue,  St.  Peter." 

"Ah,  but  his  notion  of  temperance!  and  his  filthy 
ravings  to  my  face,  as  though  he  were  talking  in  some 
church  or  other!  Why,  the  slavering  little  blasphemer! 
to  my  face  he  spoke  against  the  first  of  my  Master's 
miracles,  and  against  the  last  injunction  which  was  laid 
upon  us  Twelve,  spluttering  that  the  wine  was  unfer- 
mented !  To  me  he  said  this,  look  you,  Jurgen !  to  me, 
who  drank  of  that  noble  wine  at  Cana  and  equally  of 
that  sustaining  wine  we  had  in  the  little  upper  room 
in  Jerusalem  when  the  hour  of  trial  was  near  and  our 
Master  would  have  us  at  our  best !  With  me,  who  have 
since  tasted  of  that  unimaginable  wine  which  the  Master 
promised  us  in  His  kingdom,  the  busy  wretch  would 
be  arguing!  and  would  have  convinced  me,  in  the  face 
of  all  my  memories,  that  my  Master,  Who  was  a  Man 
among  men,  was  nourished  by  such  thin  swill  as  bred  i 
this  niggling  brawling  wretch  to  plague  me !" 

"Well,  but  indeed,  St.  Peter,  there  is  no  denying  that 
wine  is  often  misused." 

"So  he  informed  me,  Jurgen.  And  I  told  him  by  that 
argument  he  would  prohibit  the  making  of  bishops,  for 
reasons  he  would  find  in  the  mirror:  and  that,  remem 
bering  what  happened  at  the  Crucifixion,  he  would  clap 
every  lumber  dealer  into  jail.  So  they  took  him  away 
still  slavering,"  said  St.  Peter,  wearily.  "He  was  threat 
ening  to  have  somebody  else  elected  in  my  place  when 
I  last  heard  him :  but  that  was  only  old  habit." 

"I  do  not  think,  however,  that  I  encountered  any  such 
bishop,  sir,  down  yonder." 

"In  the  Hell  of  vour  fathers?     Oh,  no:  vour  fathers 


312  JURGEN 


meant  well,  but  their  notions  were  limited.  No,  we 
have  quite  another  eternal  home  for  these  blasphemers, 
in  a  region  that  was  fitted  out  long  ago,  when  the  need 
grew  pressing  to  provide  a  place  for  zealous  Churchmen." 

"And  who  devised  this  place,  St.  Peter?" 

"As  a  very  special  favor,  we  Twelve  to  whom  is  im 
puted  the  beginning  and  the  patronizing  of  such  abomina 
tions  were  permitted  to  design  and  furnish  this  place. 
And,  of  course,  we  put  it  in  charge  of  our  former 
confrere,  Judas.  He  seemed  the  appropriate  person. 
Equally  of  course,  we  put  a  very  special  roof  upon  it, 
the  best  imitation  which  we  could  contrive  of  the  War 
Roof,  so  that  none  of  those  grinning  cherubs  could  see 
what  long  reward  it  was  we  Twelve  who  founded  Christi 
anity  had  contrived  for  these  blasphemers." 

"Well,  doubtless  that  was  wise." 

"Ah,  and  if  we  Twelve  had  our  way  there  would  be 
just  such  another  roof  kept  always  over  Earth.  For 
the  slavering  madman  has  left  a  many  like  him  clamoring 
and  spewing  about  the  churches  that  were  named  for 
us  Twelve,  and  in  the  pulpits  of  the  churches  that  were 
named  for  us:  and  we  find  it  embarrassing.  It  is  the 
doctrine  of  Mahound  they  splutter,  and  not  any  doctrine 
that  we  ever  preached  or  even  heard  of :  and  they  ought 
to  say  so  fairly,  instead  of  libeling  us  who  were  Apostles 
and  gentlemen.  But  thus  it  is  that  the  rascals  make  free 
with  our  names:  and  the  cherubs  keep  track  of  these 
antics,  and  poke  fun  at  us.  So  that  it  is  not  all  pleasure, 
this  being  a  Holy  Apostle  in  Heaven,  Jurgen,  though  once 
we  Twelve  were  happy  enough."  And  St.  Peter  sighed. 

"One  thing  I  did  not  understand,  sir:  and  that  was 
when  you  spoke  just  now  of  the  War  Roof." 


TWELVE  THAT  ARE  FRETTED  HOURLY         313 


"It  is  a  stone  roof,  made  of  the  two  tablets  handed 
down  at  Sinai,  which  God  fits  over  Earth  whenever  men 
go  to  war.  For  He  is  merciful:  and  many  of  us  here 
remember  that  once  upon  a  time  we  were  men  and  women. 
So  when  men  go  to  war  God  screens  the  sight  of  what 
they  do,  because  He  wishes  to  be  merciful  to  us." 

"That  must  prevent,  however,  the  ascent  of  all  prayers 
that  are  made  in  war-time/' 

"Why,  but,  of  course,  that  is  the  roof's  secondary 
purpose,"  replied  St.  Peter.  "What  else  would  you  ex 
pect  when  the  Master's  teachings  are  being  flouted? 
Rumors  get  through,  though,  somehow,  and  horribly  pre 
posterous  rumors.  For  instance,  I  have  actually  heard 
that  in  war-time  prayers  are  put  up  to  the  Lord  God  to 
back  His  favorites  and  take  part  in  the  murdering.  Not," 
said  the  good  Saint,  in  haste,  "that  I  would  believe  even  a 
Christian  bishop  to  be  capable  of  such  blasphemy:  I 
merely  want  to  show  you,  Jurgen,  what  wild  stones  get 
about.  Still,  I  remember,  back  in  Cappadocia — "  And  then 
St.  Peter  slapped  his  thigh.  "But  would  you  keep  me  gossip 
ing  here  forever,  Jurgen,  with  the  Souls  lining  up  at  the 
main  entrance  like  ants  that  swarm  to  molasses !  Come, 
out  of  Heaven  with  you,  Jurgen!  and  back  to  whatever 
place  you  imagine  will  restore  to  you  your  own  proper 
illusions !  and  let  me  be  returning  to  my  duties." 

"Well,  then,  St.  Peter,  I  imagine  Amneran  Heath, 
where  I  flung  away  my  mother's  last  gift  to  me." 

"And  Amneran  Heath  it  is,"  said  St.  Peter,  as  he 
thrust  Jurgen  through  the  small  private  door  that  was 
carved  with  fishes  in  bas-relief. 

And  Jurgen  saw  that  the  Saint  spoke  truthfully. 


43. 

Postures  before  a  Shadow 


HUS  Jurgen  stood  again  upon  Amneran  Heath. 
And  again  it  was  Walburga's  Eve,  when  almost 
anything  is  rather  more  than  likely  to  happen: 
and  the  low  moon  was  bright,  so  that  the  shadow  of 
Jurgen  was  long  and  thin.  And  Jurgen  searched  for  the 
gold  cross  that  he  had  worn  through  motives  of  senti 
ment,  but  he  could  not  find  it,  nor  did  he  ever  recover 
it :  but  barberry  bushes  and  the  thorns  of  barberry  bushes 
he  found  in  great  plenty  as  he  searched  vainly.  All 
the  while  that  he  searched,  the  shirt  of  Nessus  glittered 
in  the  moonlight,  and  the  shadow  of  Jurgen  streamed 
long  and  thin,  and  every  movement  that  was  made  by 
Jurgen  the  shadow  parodied.  And  as  always,  it  was  the 
shadow  of  a  lean  woman,  with  her  head  wrapped  in  a 
towel. 

Now  Jurgen  regarded  this  shadow,  and  to  Jurgen  it 
was  abhorrent. 

"Oh,  Mother  Sereda,"  says  he,  "for  a  whole  year  your 
shadow  has  dogged  me.  Many  lands  we  have  visited; 
and  many  sights  we  have  seen:  and  at  the  end  all  that 
we  have  done  is  a  tale  that  is  told:  and  it  is  a  tale  that 
does  not  matter.  So  I  stand  where  I  stood  at  the  be 
ginning  of  my  foiled  journeying.  The  gift  you  gave  me 
has  availed  me  nothing:  and  I  do  not  care  whether  I  be 

314 


POSTURES  BEFORE  A  SHADOW       315 


young  or  old :  and  I  have  lost  all  that  remained  to  me 
of  my  mother  and  of  my  mother's  love,  and  I  have  be 
trayed  my  mother's  pride  in  me,  and  I  am  weary." 

Now  a  little  whispering  gathered  upon  the  ground,  as 
though  dead  leaves  were  moving  there :  and  the  whisper 
ing  augmented  (because  this  was  upon  Walburga's  Eve, 
when  almost  anything  is  rather  more  than  likely  to  hap 
pen),  and  the  whispering  became  the  ghost  of  a  voice. 

"You  flattered  me  very  cunningly,  Jurgen,  for  you  are 
a  monstrous  clever  fellow."  This  it  was  that  the  voice 
said  drily. 

"A  number  of  people  might  say  that  with  tolerable 
justice,"  Jurgen  declared:  "and  yet  I  guess  who  speaks. 
As  for  flattering  you,  godmother,  I  was  only  joking  that 
day  in  Glathion:  in  fact,  I  was  careful  to  explain  as 
much,  the  moment  I  noticed  your  shadow  seemed  inter 
ested  in  my  idle  remarks  and  was  writing  them  all 
down  in  a  notebook.  Oh,  no,  I  can  assure  you  I  traf 
ficked  quite  honestly,  and  have  dealt  fairly  everywhere. 
For  the  rest,  I  really  am  very  clever :  it  would  be  foolish 
of  me  to  deny  it." 

"Vain  fool !"  said  the  voice  of  Mother  Sereda. 

Jurgen  replied:  "It  may  be  that  I  am  vain.  But  it 
is  certain  that  I  am  clever.  And  even  more  certain  is 
the  fact  that  I  am  weary.  For,  look  you,  in  the  tinsel 
of  my  borrowed  youth  I  have  gone  romancing  through 
the  world;  and  into  lands  unvisited  by  other  men  have 
I  ventured,  playing  at  spillikins  with  women  and  gear 
and  with  the  welfare  of  kingdoms;  and  into  Hell  have 
I  fallen,  and  into  Heaven  have  I  climbed,  and  into  the 
place  of  the  Lord  God  Himself  have  I  crept  stealthily: 
and  nowhere  have  I  found  what  I  desired.  Nor  do  I 


316  JURGEN 


know  what  my  desire  is,  even  now.  But  I  know  that  it  is 
not  possible  for  me  to  become  young  again,  whatever 
I  may  appear  to  others." 

"Indeed,  Jurgen,  youth  has  passed  out  of  your  heart, 
beyond  the  reach  of  Leshy:  and  the  nearest  you  can 
come  to  regaining  youth  is  to  behave  childishly." 

"O  godmother,  but  do  give  rein  to  your  better  instincts 
and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  and  speak  with  me  more 
candidly!  Come  now,  dear  lady,  there  should  be  no 
secrets  between  you  and  me.  In  Leuke  you  were  reported 
to  be  Cybele,  the  great  Res  Dea,  the  mistress  of  every 
tangible  thing.  In  Cocaigne  they  spoke  of  you  as  ^sred. 
And  at  Cameliard  Merlin  called  you  Aderes,  dark  Mother 
of  the  Little  Gods.  Well,  but  at  your  home  in  the  forest, 
where  I  first  had  the  honor  of  making  your  acquaintance, 
godmother,  you  told  me  you  were  Sereda,  who  takes 
the  color  out  of  things,  and  controls  all  Wednesdays. 
Now  these  anagrams  bewilder  me,  and  I  desire  to  know 
you  frankly  for  what  you  are." 

*'It  may  be  that  I  am  all  these.  Meanwhile  I  bleach, 
and  sooner  or  later  I  bleach  everything.  It  may  be  that 
some  day,  Jurgen,  I  shall  even  take  the  color  out  of  a 
fool's  conception  of  himself." 

"Yes,  yes!  but  just  between  ourselves,  godmother,  is 
it  not  this  shadow  of  you  that  prevents  my  entering, 
quite,  into  the  appropriate  emotion,  the  spirit  of  the 
occasion,  as  one  might  say,  and  robs  my  life  of  the 
zest  which  other  persons  apparently  get  out  of  living? 
Come  now,  you  know  it  is!  Well,  and  for  my  part, 
godmother,  I  love  a  jest  as  well  as  any  man  breathing, 
but  I  do  prefer  to  have  it  intelligible." 

"Now,   let   me  tell  you  something  plainly,   Jurgen!" 


POSTURES  BEFORE  A  SHADOW  317 


Mother  Sereda  cleared  her  invisible  throat,  and  began 
to  speak  rather  indignantly. 

*     *     * 

''Well,  godmother,  if  you  will  pardon  my  frankness, 
I  do  not  think  it  is  quite  nice  to  talk  about  such  things, 
and  certainly  not  with  so  much  candor.  However,  dis 
missing  these  considerations  of  delicacy,  let  us  revert 
to  my  original  question.  You  have  given  me  youth 
and  all  the  appurtenances  of  youth:  and  therewith  you 
have  given,  too,  in  your  joking  way — which  nobody 
appreciates  more  heartily  than  I, — a  shadow  that  renders 
all  things  not  quite  satisfactory,  not  wholly  to  be  trusted, 
not  to  be  met  with  frankness.  Now — as  you  understand, 
I  hope, — I  concede  the  jest,  I  do  not  for  a  moment  deny 
it  is  a  master-stroke  of  humor.  But,  after  all,  just  what 
exactly  is  the  point  of  it?  What  does  it  mean?" 

"It  may  be  that  there  is  no  meaning  anywhere.  Could 
you  face  that  interpretation,  Jurgen?" 

"No,"  said  Jurgen:  "I  have  faced  god  and  devil,  but 
that  I  will  not  face." 

"No  more  would  I  who  have  so  many  names  face 
that.  You  jested  with  me.  So  I  jest  with  you.  Probably 
Koshchei  jests  with  all  of  us.  And  he,  no  doubt — even 
Koshchei  who  made  things  as  they  are, — is  in  turn  the 
butt  of  some  larger  jest." 

"He  may  be,  certainly,"  said  Jurgen :  "yet,  on  the  other 
hand—" 

"About  these  matters  I  do  not  know.  How  should 
I  ?  But  I  think  that  all  of  us  take  part  in  a  moving  and 
a  shifting  and  a  reasoned  using  of  the  things  which  are 
Koshchei's,  a  using  such  as  we  do  not  comprehend,  and 
are  not  fit  to  comprehend.'-' 


318  JURGEN 


"That  is  possible,"  said  Jurgen:  ''but,  none  the  less — !" 

"It  is  as  a  chessboard  whereon  the  pieces  move 
diversely:  the  knights  leaping  sidewise,  and  the  bishops 
darting  obliquely,  and  the  rooks  charging  straightfor 
ward,  and  the  pawns  laboriously  hobbling  from  square 
to  square,  each  at  the  player's  will.  There  is  no  dis 
cernible  order,  all  to  the  onlooker  is  manifestly  in  con 
fusion:  but  to  the  player  there  is  a  meaning  in  the  dis 
position  of  the  pieces." 

"I  do  not  deny  it :  still,  one  must  grant — " 

"And  I  think  it  is  as  though  each  of  the  pieces,  even 
the  pawns,  had  a  chessboard  of  his  own  which  moves 
as  he  is  moved,  and  whereupon  he  moves  the  pieces 
to  suit  his  will,  in  the  very  moment  wherein  he  is  moved 
willy-nilly." 

"You  may  be  right :  yet,  even  so — " 

"And  Koshchei  who  directs  this  infinite  moving  of 
puppets  may  well  be  the  futile  harried  king  in  some  yet 
larger  game." 

"Now,  certainly  I  cannot  contradict  you:  but,  at  the 
same  time — !" 

"So  goes  this  criss-cross  multitudinous  moving  as  far 
as  thought  can  reach :  and  beyond  that  the  moving  goes. 
All  moves.  All  moves  uncomprehendingly,  and  to  the 
sound  of  laughter.  For  all  moves  in  consonance  with  a 
higher  power  that  understands  the  meaning  of  the  move 
ment.  And  each  moves  the  pieces  before  him  in  con 
sonance  with  his  ability.  So  the  game  is  endless  and 
ruthless :  and  there  is  merriment  overhead,  but  it  is  very 
far  away." 

"Nobody  is  more  willing  to  concede  that  these  are 
handsome  fancies,  Mother  Sereda.  But  they  make  my 


POSTURES  BEFORE  A  SHADOW  319 


head  ache.  Moreover,  two  people  are  needed  to  play 
chess,  and  your  hypothesis  does  not  provide  anybody 
with  an  antagonist.  Lastly,  and  above  all,  how  do  I 
know  there  is  a  word  of  truth  in  your  high-sounding 
fancies?" 

"How  can  any  of  us  know  anything?  And  what  is 
Jurgen,  that  his  knowing  or  his  not  knowing  should 
matter  to  anybody  ?" 

Jurgen  slapped  his  hands  together.  "Hah,  Mother 
Sereda!"  says  he,  "but  now  I  have  you.  It  is  that, 
precisely  that  damnable  question,  which  your  shadow 
has  been  whispering  to  me  from  the  beginning  of  our 
companionship.  And  I  am  through  with  you.  I  will 
have  no  more  of  your  gifts,  which  are  purchased  at  the 
cost  of  hearing  that  whisper.  I  am  resolved  hence 
forward  to  be  as  other  persons,  and  to  believe  implicitly 
in  my  own  importance." 

"But  have  you  any  reason  to  blame  me?  I  restored 
to  you  your  youth.  And  when,  just  at  the  passing  of 
that  replevined  Wednesday  which  I  loaned,  you  rebuked 
the  Countess  Dorothy  very  edifyingly,  I  was  pleased  to 
find  a  man  so  chaste :  and  therefore  I  continued  my  grant 
of  youth — " 

"Ah,  yes !"  said  Jurgen :  "then  that  was  the  way  of  it  f 
You  were  pleased,  just  in  the  nick  of  time,  by  my  virtu 
ous  rebuke  of  the  woman  who  tempted  me.  Yes,  to  be 
sure.  Well,  well!  come  now,  you  know,  that  is  very 
gratifying." 

"None  the  less  your  chastity,  however  unusual,  has 
proved  a  barren  virtue.  For  what  have  you  made  of 
a  year  of  youth?  Why,  each  thing  that  every  man 
of  forty-odd  by  ordinary  regrets  having  done,  you  have 


320  JURGEN 


done  again,  only  more  swiftly,  compressing  the  follies 
of  a  quarter  of  a  century  into  the  space  of  one  year. 
You  have  sought  bodily  pleasures.  You  have  made  jests. 
You  have  asked  many  idle  questions.  And  you  have 
doubted  all  things,  including  Jurgen.  In  the  face  of 
your  memories,  in  the  face  of  what  you  probably  con 
sidered  cordial  repentance,  you  have  made  of  your  second 
youth  just  nothing.  Each  thing  that  every  man  of 
forty-odd  regrets  having  done,  you  have  done  again." 

"Yes :  it  is  undeniable  that  I  re-married,"  said  Jurgen. 
"Indeed,  now  I  think  of  it,  there  was  Anaitis  and  Chloris 
and  Florimel,  so  that  I  have  married  thrice  in  one  year. 
But  I  am  largely  the  victim  of  heredity,  you  must  re 
member,  since  it  was  without  consulting  me  that  Smoit 
of  Glathion  perpetuated  his  characteristics." 

"Your  marriages  I  do  not  criticize,  for  each  was  in 
accordance  with  the  custom  of  the  country:  the  law  is 
always  respectable;  and  matrimony  is  an  honorable 
estate,  and  has  a  steadying  influence,  in  all  climes.  It  is 
true  my  shadow  reports  several  other  affairs — " 

"Oh,  godmother,  and  what  is  this  you  are  telling  me !" 

"There  was  a  Yolande  and  a  Guenevere" — the  voice 
of  Mother  Sereda  appeared  to  read  from  a  memoran 
dum, — "and  a  Sylvia,  who  was  your  own  step-grand 
mother,  and  a  Stella,  who  was  a  yogini,  whatever  that 
may  be;  and  a  Phyllis  and  a  Dolores,  who  were  the 
queens  of  Hell  and  Philistia  severally.  Moreover,  you 
visited  the  Queen  of  Pseudopolis  in  circumstances  which 
could  not  but  have  been  unfavorably  viewed  by  her 
husband.  Oh,  yes,  you  have  committed  follies  with 
divers  women." 

"Follies,  it  may  be,  but  no  crimes,  not  even  a  mis- 


POSTURES  BEFORE  A  SHADOW  321 


demeanor.  Look  you,  Mother  Sereda,  does  your  shadow 
report  in  all  this  year  one  single  instance  of  miscon 
duct  with  a  woman  ?"  says  Jurgen,  sternly. 

"No,  dearie,  as  I  joyfully  concede.  The  very  worst 
reported  is  that  matters  were  sometimes  assuming  a 
more  or  less  suspicious  turn  when  you  happened  to  put 
out  the  light.  And,  of  course,  shadows  cannot  exist 
in_absolute  darkness." 

I    "See  now,"  said  Jurgen,  "what  a  thing  it  is  to  be 

.careful!     Careful,  I  mean,  in  one's  avoidance  of  even 

I  an  appearance  of  evil.     In  what  other  young  man  of 

1  twenty-one  may  you  look  to  find  such  continence?    And 

j^  yet  you  grumble !" 

"I  do  not  complain  because  you  have  lived  chastely. 
That  pleases  me,  and  is  the  single  reason  you  have  been 
spared  this  long." 

"Oh,  godmother,  and  whatever  are  you  telling  me !" 

"Yes,  dearie,  had  you  once  sinned  with  a  woman  in 
the  youth  I  gave,  you  would  have  been  punished  instantly 
and  very  terribly.  For  I  was  always  a  great  believer 
in  chastity,  and  in  the  old  days  I  used  to  insure  the 
chastity  of  all  my  priests  in  the  only  way  that  is 
infallible." 

"In  fact,  I  noticed  something  of  the  sort  as  you  passed 
inLeuke." 

"And  over  and  over  again  I  have  been  angered  by 
my  shadow's  reports,  and  was  about  to  punish  you,  my 
poor  dearie,  when  I  would  remember  that  you  held  fast 
to  the  rarest  of  all  virtues  in  a  man,  and  that  my 
shadow  reported  no  irregularities  with  women.  And 
that  would  please  me,  I  acknowledge :  so  I  would  let 
matters  run  on  a  while  longer.  But  it  is  a  shiftless 


322  JURGEN 


business,  dearie,  for  you  are  making  nothing  of  the 
youth  I  restored  to  you.  And  had  you  a  thousand 
lives  the  result  would  be  the  same." 

"Nevertheless,  I  am  a  monstrous  clever  fellow."  Jur- 
gen  chuckled  here. 

"You  are,  instead,  a  palterer;  and  your  life,  apart  from 
that  fine  song  you  made  about  me,  is  sheer  waste." 

"Ah,  if  you  come  to  that,  there  was  a  brown  man  in 
the  Druid  forest,  who  showed  me  a  very  curious  spectacle, 
last  June.  And  I  am  not  apt  to  lose  the  memory  of  what 
he  showed  me,  whatever  you  may  say,  and  whatever  I 
may  have  said  to  him." 

"This  and  a  many  other  curious  spectacles  you  have 
seen  and  have  made  nothing  of,  in  the  false  youth  I  gave 
you.  And  therefore  my  shadow  was  angry  that  in  the 
revelation  of  so  much  futile  trifling  I  did  not  take  away 
the  youth  I  gave — as  I  have  half  a  mind  to  do,  even 
now,  I  warn  you,  dearie,  for  there  is  really  no  putting 
up  with  you.  But  I  spared  you  because  of  my  shadow's 
grudging  reports  as  to  your  continence,  which  is  a  virtue 
that  we  of  the  Leshy  peculiarly  revere." 

Now  Jurgen  considered.  "Eh  ? — then  it  is  within  your 
ability  to  make  me  old  again,  or  rather,  an  excellently 
preserved  person  of  forty-odd,  or  say,  thirty-nine,  by 
the  calendar,  but  not  looking  it  by  a  long  shot?  Such 
threats  are  easily  voiced.  But  how  can  I  know  that 
you  are  speaking  the  truth?" 

"How  can  any  of  us  know  anything?  And  what  is 
Jurgen,  that  his  knowing  or  his  not  knowing  should 
matter  to  anybody?" 

"Ah,  godmother,  and  must  you  still  be  mumbling  that ! 
Come  now,  forget  you  are  a  woman,  and  be  reasonable! 


POSTURES  BEFORE  A  SHADOW  323 


You  exercise  the  fair  and  ancient  privilege  of  kinship 
by  calling  me  harsh  names,  but  it  is  in  the  face  of  this 
plain  fact:  I  got  from  you  what  never  man  has  got 
before.  I  am  a  monstrous  clever  fellow,  say  what  you 
will :  for  already  I  have  cajoled  you  out  of  a  year  of 
youth,  a  year  wherein  I  have  neither  builded  nor  robbed 
any  churches,  but  have  had  upon  the  whole  a  very  pleasant 
time.  Ah,  you  may  murmur  platitudes  and  threats  and 
axioms  and  anything  else  which  happens  to  appeal  to  you : 
the  fact  remains  that  I  got  what  I  wanted.  Yes,  I 
cajoled  you  very  neatly  into  giving  me  eternal  youth. 
For,  of  course,  poor  dear,  you  are  now  powerless  to  take 
it  back:  and  so  I  shall  retain,  in  spite  of  you,  the  most 
desirable  possession  in  life." 

"I  gave,  in  honor  of  your  chastity,  which  is  the  one 
commendable  trait  that  you  possess — " 

"My  chastity,  I  grant  you,  is  remarkable.  Neverthe 
less,  you  really  gave  because  I  was  the  cleverer." 

" — And  what  I  give  I  can  retract  at  will!" 

"Come,  come,  you  know  very  well  you  can  do  nothing 
of  the  sort.  I  refer  you  to  Ssevius  Nicanor.  None  of 
the  Leshy  can  ever  take  back  the  priceless  gift  of  youth. 
That  is  explicitly  proved,  in  the  Appendix." 

"Now,  but  I  am  becoming  angry — " 

"To  the  contrary,  as  I  perceive  with  real  regret,  you 
are  becoming  ridiculous,  since  you  dispute  the  authority 
of  Saevius  Nicanor." 

" — And  I  will  show  you — oh,  but  I  will  show  you, 
you  jackanapes !" 

"Ah,  but  come  now!  keep  your  temper  in  hand!  All 
fairly  erudite  persons  know  you  cannot  do  the  thing  you 
threaten :  and  it  is  notorious  that  the  weakest  wheel  of 


324  JURGEN 


every  cart  creaks  loudest.  So  do  you  cultivate  a  judicious 
taciturnity!  for  really  nobody  is  going  to  put  up  with 
petulance  in  an  ugly  and  toothless  woman  of  your  age, 
as  I  tell  you  for  your  own  good." 

It  always  vexes  people  to  be  told  anything  for  their 
own  good.  So  what  followed  happened  quickly.  A  fleece 
of  cloud  slipped  over  the  moon.  The  night  seemed 
bitterly  cold,  for  the  space  of  a  heart-beat,  and  then 
matters  were  comfortable  enough.  The  moon  emerged 
in  its  full  glory,  and  there  in  front  of  Jurgen  was  the 
proper  shadow  of  Jurgen.  He  dazedly  regarded  his 
hands,  and  they  were  the  hands  of  an  elderly  person. 
He  felt  the  calves  of  his  legs,  and  they  were  shrunken. 
He  patted  himself  centrally,  and  underneath  the  shirt  of 
Nessus  the  paunch  of  Jurgen  was  of  impressive  dimen 
sion.  In  other  respects  he  had  abated. 

"Then,  too,  I  have  forgotten  something  very  suddenly," 
reflected  Jurgen.  "It  was  something  I  wanted  to  forget. 
Ah,  yes !  but  what  was  it  that  I  wanted  to  forget  ?  Why, 
there  was  a  brown  man — with  something  unusual  about 
his  feet — He  talked  nonsense  and  behaved  idiotically  in 
a  Druid  forest — He  was  probably  insane.  No,  I  do  not 
remember  what  it  was  that  I  have  forgotten :  but  I  am 
sure  it  has  gnawed  away  in  the  back  of  my  mind,  like 
a  small  ruinous  maggot:  and  that,  after  all,  it  was  of 
no  importance." 

Aloud  he  wailed,  in  his  most  moving  tones:  "Oh, 
Mother  Sereda,  I  did  not  mean  to  anger  you.  It  was 
not  fair  to  snap  me  up  on  a  thoughtless  word!  Have 
mercy  upon  me,  Mother  Sereda,  for  I  would  never  have 
alluded  to  your  being  so  old  and  plain-looking  if  I  had 


POSTURES  BEFORE  A  SHADOW       325 


known  you  were  so  vain!"  But  Mother  Sereda  did  not 
appear  to  be  softened  by  this  form  of  entreaty,  for 
nothing  happened. 

"Well,  then,  thank  goodness,  that  is  over!"  says  Jur- 
gen,  to  himself.  "Of  course,  she  may  be  listening  still, 
and  it  is  dangerous  jesting  with  the  Leshy:  but  really 
they  do  not  seem  to  be  very  intelligent.  Otherwise  this 
irritable  maunderer  would  have  known  that,  everything 
else  apart,  I  am  heartily  tired  of  the  responsibilities  of 
youth  under  any  such  constant  surveillance.  Now  all 
is  changed :  there  is  no  call  to  avoid  a  suspicion  of  wrong 
doing  by  transacting  all  philosophical  investigations  in 
the  dark:  and  I  am  no  longer  distrustful  of  lamps  or 
candles,  or  even  of  sunlight.  Old  body,  you  are  as 
grateful  as  old  slippers,  to  a  somewhat  wearied  man: 
and  for  the  second  time  I  have  tricked  Mother  Sereda 
rather  neatly.  My  knowledge  of  Lisa,  however  pain 
fully  acquired,  is  a  decided  advantage  in  dealing  with 
anything  that  is  feminine." 

Then  Jurgen  regarded  the  black  cave.  "And  that  re 
minds  me  it  still  would  be,  I  suppose,  the  manly  thing  to 
continue  my  quest  for  Lisa.  The  intimidating  part  is 
that  if  I  go  into  this  cave  for  the  third  time  I  shall  almost 
certainly  get  her  back.  By  every  rule  of  tradition  the 
third  attempt  is  invariably  successful.  I  wonder  if  I 
want  Lisa  back  ?" 

Jurgen  meditated:  and  he  shook  a  grizzled  head.  "I 
do  not  definitely  know.  She  was  an  excellent  cook. 
There  were  pies  that  I  shall  always  remember  with 
affection.  And  she  meant  well,  poor  dear!  But  then  if 
it  was  really  her  head  that  I  sliced  off  last  May — or  if 
her  temper  is  not  any  better — Still,  it  is  an  interminable 


326  JURGEN 


nuisance  washing  your  own  dishes ;  and  I  appear  to  have 
no  aptitude  whatever  for  sewing  and  darning  things.  But, 
to  the  other  hand,  Lisa  nags  so :  and  she  does  not  under 
stand  me — " 

Jurgen  shrugged.  "See-saw!  the  argument  for  and 
against  might  run  on  indefinitely.  Since  I  have  no  real 
preference,  I  will  humor  prejudice  by  doing  the  manly 
thing.  For  it  seems  only  fair:  and  besides,  it  may  fail 
after  all." 

Then  he  went  into  the  cave  for  the  third  time. 


44. 

In  the  Manager  9s  Office 


THE  tale  tells  that  all  was  dark  there,  and  Jurgen 
could  see  no  one.  But  the  cave  stretched  straight 
forward,  and  downward,  and  at  the  far  end  was 
a  glow  of  light.  Jurgen  went  on  and  on,  and  so  came 
to  the  place  where  Nessus  had  lain  in  wait  for  Jurgen. 
Again  Jurgen  stooped,  and  crawled  through  the  opening 
in  the  cave's  wall,  and  so  came  to  where  lamps  were 
burning  upon  tall  iron  stands.  Now,  one  by  one,  these 
lamps  were  going  out,  and  there  were  now  no  women 
here:  instead,  Jurgen  trod  inch  deep  in  fine  white  ashes, 
leaving  the  print  of  his  feet  upon  them. 

He  went  forward  as  the  cave  stretched.  He  came  to 
a  sharp  turn  in  the  cave,  with  the  failing  lamplight  now 
behind  him,  so  that  his  shadow  confronted  Jurgen,  blurred 
but  unarguable.  It  was  the  proper  shadow  of  a  common 
place  and  elderly  pawnbroker,  and  Jurgen  regarded  it 
with  approval. 

Jurgen  came  then  into  a  sort  of  underground  chamber, 
from  the  roof  of  which  was  suspended  a  kettle  of  quiver 
ing  red  flames.  Facing  him  was  a  throne,  and  back  of 
this  were  rows  of  benches :  but  here,  too,  was  nobody. 
Resting  upright  against  the  vacant  throne  was  a  tri 
angular  white  shield:  and  when  Jurgen  looked  more 
closely  he  could  see  there  was  writing  upon  it.  Jurgen 

327 


328  JURGEN 


carried  this  shield  as  close  as  he  could  to  the  kettle  of 
flames,  for  his  eyesight  was  now  not  very  good,  and 
besides,  the  flames  in  the  kettle  were  burning  low:  and 
Jurgen  deciphered  the  message  that  was  written  upon  the 
shield,  in  black  and  red  letters. 

"Absent  upon  important  affairs,"  it  said.  "Will  be 
back  in  an  hour/'  And  it  was  signed,  "Thragnar  R." 

"I  wonder  now  for  whom  King  Thragnar  left  this 
notice?"  reflected  Jurgen — "certainly  not  for  me.  And 
I  wonder,  too,  if  he  left  it  here  a  year  ago  or  only  this 
evening?  And  I  wonder  if  it  was  Thragnar's  head  I 
removed  in  the  black  and  silver  pavilion?  Ah,  well, 
there  are  a  number  of  things  to  wonder  about  in  this 
incredible  cave,  wherein  the  lights  are  dying  out,  as  I 
observe  with  some  discomfort.  And  I  think  the  air  grows 
chillier." 

Then  Jurgen  looked  to  his  right,  at  the  stairway  which 
he  and  Guenevere  had  ascended ;  and  he  shook  his  head. 
"Glathion  is  no  fit  resort  for  a  respectable  pawnbroker. 
Chivalry  is  for  young  people,  like  the  late  Duke  of 
Logreus.  But  I  must  get  out  of  this  place,  for  certainly 
there  is  in  the  air  a  deathlike  chill." 

So  Jurgen  went  on  down  the  aisle  between  the  rows 
of  benches  wherefrom  Thragnar's  warriors  had  glared 
at  Jurgen  when  he  was  last  in  this  part  of  the  cave.  At 
the  end  of  the  aisle  was  a  wooden  door  painted  white. 
It  was  marked,  in  large  black  letters,  "Office  of  the 
Manager — Keep  Out."  So  Jurgen  opened  this  door. 

He  entered  into  a  notable  place  illuminated  by  six 
cresset  lights.  These  lights  were  the  power  of  Assyria, 
and  Nineveh,  and  Egypt,  and  Rome,  and  Athens,  and 
Byzantium:  six  other  cressets  stood  ready  there,  but 


IN  THE  MANAGER'S  OFFICE  329 


fire  had  not  yet  been  laid  to  these.  Back  of  all  was  a 
large  blackboard  with  much  figuring  on  it  in  red  chalk. 
And  here,  too,  was  the  black  gentleman,  who  a  year  ago 
had  given  his  blessing  to  Jurgen,  for  speaking  civilly  of 
the  powers  of  darkness.  To-night  the  black  gentleman 
wore  a  black  dressing-gown  that  was  embroidered  with 
all  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac.  He  sat  at  a  table,  the  top  of 
which  was  curiously  inlaid  with  thirty  pieces  of  silver: 
and  he  was  copying  entries  from  one  big  book  into  an 
other.  He  looked  up  from  his  writing  pleasantly  enough, 
and  very  much  as  though  he  were  expecting  Jurgen. 

"You  find  me  busy  with  the  Stellar  Accounts,"  says 
he,  "which  appear  to  be  in  a  fearful  muddle.  But  what 
more  can  I  do  for  you,  Jurgen? — for  you,  my  friend, 
who  spoke  a  kind  word  for  things  as  they  are,  and 
furnished  me  with  one  or  two  really  very  acceptable 
explanations  as  to  why  I  had  created  evil?" 

"I  have  been  thinking,  Prince — "  begins  the  pawn 
broker. 

"And  why  do  you  call  me  a  prince,  Jurgen?" 

"I  do  not  know,  sir.  But  I  suspect  that  my  quest  is 
ended,  and  that  you  are  Koshchei  the  Deathless." 

The  black  gentleman  nodded.  "Something  of  the  sort. 
Koshchei,  or  Ardnari,  or  Ptha,  or  Jaldalaoth,  or  Abraxas, 
— it  is  all  one  what  I  may  be  called  hereabouts.  My 
real  name  you  never  heard:  no  man  has  ever  heard  my 
name.  So  that  matter  we  need  hardly  go  into." 

"Precisely,  Prince.  Well,  but  it  is  a  long  way  that  I 
have  traveled  roundabout,  to  win  to  you  who  made  things 
as  they  are.  And  it  is  eager  I  am  to  learn  just  why  you 
made  things  as  they  are." 


330  JURGEN 


Up  went  the  black  gentleman's  eyebrows  into  regular 
Gothic  arches.  "And  do  you  really  think,  Jurgen,  that 
I  am  going  to  explain  to  you  why  I  made  things  as  they 
are?" 

"I  fail  to  see,  Prince,  how  my  wanderings  could  have 
any  other  equitable  climax." 

"But,  friend,  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  justice.  To 
the  contrary,  I  am  Koshchei  who  made  things  as  they 
are." 

Jurgen  saw  the  point.  "Your  reasoning,  Prince,  is 
unanswerable.  I  bow  to  it.  I  should  even  have  fore 
seen  it.  Do  you  tell  me,  then,  what  thing  is  this  which 
I  desire,  and  cannot  find  in  any  realm  that  man  has 
known  nor  in  any  kingdom  that  man  has  imagined." 

Koshchei  was  very  patient.  "I  am  not,  I  confess,  any 
thing  like  as  well  acquainted  with  what  has  been  going 
on  in  this  part  of  the  universe  as  I  ought  to  be.  Of 
course,  events  are  reported  to  me,  in  a  general  sort  of 
way,  and  some  of  my  people  were  put  in  charge  of  these 
stars,  a  while  back :  but  they  appear  to  have  run  the 
constellation  rather  shiftlessly.  Still,  I  have  recently 
been  figuring  on  the  matter,  and  I  do  not  despair  of 
putting  the  suns  hereabouts  to  some  profitable  use,  in  one 
way  or  another,  after  all.  Of  course,  it  is  not  as  if  it 
were  an  important  constellation.  But  I  am  an  Economist, 
and  I  dislike  waste — " 

Then  he  was  silent  for  an  instant,  not  greatly  worried 
by  the  problem,  as  Jurgen  could  see,  but  mildly  vexed 
by  his  inability  to  divine  the  solution  out  of  hand. 
Presently  Koshchei  said : 

"And  in  the  mean  time,  Jurgen,  I  am  afraid  I  cannot 
answer  your  question  on  the  spur  of  the  moment.  You 


IN  THE  MANAGER'S  OFFICE  331 


see,  there  appears  to  have  been  a  great  number  of 
human  beings,  as  you  call  them,  evolved  upon — oh,  yes ! 
^upon  Earth.  I  have  the  approximate  figures  over 
yonder,  but  they  would  hardly  interest  you.  And  the 
desires  of  each  one  of  these  human  beings  seem  to  have 
been  multitudinous  and  inconstant.  Yet,  Jurgen,  you 
might  appeal  to  the  local  authorities,  for  I  remember 
appointing  some,  at  the  request  of  a  very  charming  old 
lady." 

"In  fine,  you  do  not  know  what  thing  it  is  that  I  desire," 
said  Jurgen,  much  surprised. 

"Why,  no,  I  have  not  the  least  notion,"  replied  Kosh- 
chei.  "Still,  I  suspect  that  if  you  got  it  you  would  pro 
test  it  was  a  most  unjust  affliction.  So  why  keep  worry 
ing  about  it?" 

Jurgen  demanded,  almost  indignantly :  "But  have  you 
not  then,  Prince,  been  guiding  all  my  journeying  during 
this  last  year?" 

"Now,  really,  Jurgen,  I  remember  our  little  meeting 
very  pleasantly.  And  I  endeavored  forthwith  to  dis 
pose  of  your  most  urgent  annoyance.  But  I  confess  I  have 
had  one  or  two  other  matters  upon  my  mind  since  then* 
You  see,  Jurgen,  the  universe  is  rather  large,  and  the 
running  of  it  is  a  considerable  tax  upon  my  time.  I 
cannot  manage  to  see  anything  like  as  much  of  my  friends 
as  I  would  be  delighted  to  see  of  them.  And  so  perhaps, 
what  with  one  thing  and  another,  I  have  not  given  you 
my  undivided  attention  all  through  the  year — not  every 
moment  of  it,  that  is." 

"Ah,  Prince,  I  see  that  you  are  trying  to  spare  my 
feelings,  and  it  is  kind  of  you.  But  the  upshot  is  that 
you  do  not  know  what  I  have  been  doing,  and  you  did 


332  JURGEN 


not  care  what  I  was  doing.  Dear  me!  but  this  is  a  very 
sad  come-down  for  my  pride." 

"Yes,  but  reflect  how  remarkable  a  possession  is  that 
pride  of  yours,  and  how  I  wonder  at  it,  and  how  I  envy 
it  in  vain, — I,  who  have  nothing  anywhere  to  contem 
plate  save  my  own  handiwork.  Do  you  consider,  Jurgen, 
what  I  would  give  if  I  could  find,  anywhere  in  this 
universe  of  mine,  anything  which  would  make  me  think 
myself  one-half  so  important  as  you  think  Jurgen  is!" 
And  Koshchei  sighed. 

But  instead,  Jurgen  considered  the  humiliating  fact 
that  Koshchei  had  not  been  supervising  Jurgen' s  travels. 
And  of  a  sudden  Jurgen  perceived  that  this  Koshchei 
the  Deathless  was  not  particularly  intelligent.  Then  Jur 
gen  wondered  why  he  should  ever  have  expected  Koshchei 
to  be  intelligent?  Koshchei  was  omnipotent,  as  men 
estimate  omnipotence:  but  by  what  course  of  reasoning 
had  people  come  to  believe  that  Koshchei  was  clever,  as 
men  estimate  cleverness  ?  The  fact  that,  to  the  contrary, 
Koshchei  seemed  well-meaning,  but  rather  slow  of  ap 
prehension  and  a  little  needlessly  fussy,  went  far  toward 
explaining  a  host  of  matters  which  had  long  puzzled 
Jurgen.  Cleverness  was,  of  course,  the  most  admirable 
of  all  traits :  but  cleverness  was  not  at  the  top  of  things, 
and  never  had  been. 

"Very  well,  then!"  says  Jurgen,  with  a  shrug;  "let  us 
come  to  my  third  request  and  to  the  third  thing  that  I 
have  been  seeking.  Here,  though,  you  ought  to  be  more 
communicative.  For  I  have  been  thinking,  Prince,  my 
wife's  society  is  perhaps  becoming  to  you  a  trifle  burden 
some." 

"Eh,  sirs,  I  am  not  unaccustomed  to  women.     T  may 


IN  THE  MANAGER'S  OFFICE  333 


truthfully  say  that  as  I  find  them,  so  do  I  take  them. 
And  I  was  willing  to  oblige  a  fellow  rebel." 

"But  I  do  not  know,  Prince,  that  I  have  ever  rebelled. 
Far  from  it,  I  have  everywhere  conformed  with  custom." 

"Your  lips  conformed,  but  all  the  while  your  mind 
made  verses,  Jurgen.  And  poetry  is  man's  rebellion 
against  being  what  he  is." 

" — And  besides,  you  call  me  a  fellow  rebel.  Now, 
how  can  it  be  possible  that  Koshchei,  who  made  all  things 
as  they  are,  should  be  a  rebel?  unless,  indeed,  there  is 
some  power  above  even  Koshchei.  I  would  very  much 
like  to  have  that  explained  to  me,  sir." 

"No  doubt:  but  then  why  should  I  explain  it  to  you, 
Jurgen?"  says  the  black  gentleman. 

"Well,  be  that  as  it  may,  Prince!  But — to  return  a 
little — I  do  not  know  that  you  have  obliged  me  in  carry 
ing  off  my  wife.  I  mean,  of  course,  my  first  wife." 

"Why,  Jurgen,"  says  the  black  gentleman,  in  high 
astonishment,  "do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  you  want 
the  plague  of  your  life  back  again!" 

"I  do  not  know  about  that  either,  sir.  She  was  cer 
tainly  very  hard  to  live  with.  On  the  other  hand,  I  had 
become  used  to  having  her  about.  I  rather  miss  her, 
now  that  I  am  again  an  elderly  person.  Indeed,  I  believe 
I  have  missed  Lisa  all  along." 

The  black  gentleman  meditated.  "Come,  friend,"  he 
says,  at  last.  "You  were  a  poet  of  some  merit.  You 
displayed  a  promising  talent  which  might  have  been 
cleverly  developed,  in  any  suitable  environment.  Now, 
I  repeat,  I  am  an  Economist :  I  dislike  waste :  and  you 
were  never  fitted  to  be  anything  save  a  poet.  The  trouble 
was" — and  Koshchei  lowered  his  voice  to  an  impressive 


334  JURGEN 


whisper, — "  the  trouble  was  your  wife  did  not  under 
stand  you.  She  hindered  your  art.  Yes,  that  precisely 
sums  it  up:  she  interfered  with  your  soul-development, 
and  your  instinctive  need  of  self-expression,  and  all  that 
sort  of  thing.  You  are  very  well  rid  of  this  woman, 
who  converted  a  poet  into  a  pawnbroker.  To  the  other 
side,  as  is  with  point  observed  somewhere  or  other,  it  is 
not  good  for  man  to  live  alone.  But,  friend,  I  have  just 
the  wife  for  you." 

"Well,  Prince,"  said  Jurgen,  "I  am  willing  to  taste  any 
drink  once." 

So  Koshchei  waved  his  hand:  and  there,  quick  as 
winking,  was  the  loveliest  lady  that  Jurgen  had  ever 
imagined. 


45. 

The  Faith  of  Guenevere 


VERY  fair  was  this  woman  to  look  upon,  with 
her  shining  gray  eyes  and  small  smiling  lips,  a 
fairer  woman  might  no  man  boast  of  having  seen. 
And  she  regarded  Jurgen  graciously,  with  her  cheeks  red 
and  white,  very  lovely  to  observe.  She  was  clothed  in 
a  robe  of  flame-colored  silk,  and  about  her  neck  was  a 
collar  of  red  gold.  And  she  told  him,  quite  as  though 
she  spoke  with  a  stranger,  that  she  was  Queen  Guenevere. 

"But  Lancelot  is  turned  monk,  at  Glastonbury:  and 
Arthur  is  gone  into  Avalon,"  says  she:  "and  I  will  be 
your  wife  if  you  will  have  me,  Jurgen." 

And  Jurgen  saw  that  Guenevere  did  not  know  him  at 
all,  and  that  even  his  name  to  her  was  meaningless. 
There  were  a  many  ways  of  accounting  for  this:  but 
he  put  aside  the  unflattering  explanation  that  she  had 
simply  forgotten  all  about  Jurgen,  in  favor  of  the  re 
flection  that  the  Jurgen  she  had  known  was  a  scapegrace 
of  twenty-one.  Whereas  he  was  now  a  staid  and  knowl 
edgeable  pawnbroker. 

And  it  seemed  to  Jurgen  that  he  had  never  really  loved 
any  woman  save  Guenevere,  the  daughter  of  Gogyrvan 
Gawr,  and  the  pawnbroker  was  troubled. 

"For  again  you  make  me  think  myself  a  god,"  says 
Jurgen.  "Madame  Guenevere,  when  man  recognized 

335 


336  JURGEN 


himself  to  be  Heaven's  vicar  upon  earth,  it  was  to  serve 
and  to  glorify  and  to  protect  you  and  your  radiant 
sisterhood  that  man  consecrated  his  existence.  You  were 
beautiful,  and  you  were  frail;  you  were  half  goddess  and 
half  bric-a-brac.  Ohime,  I  recognize  the  call  of  chivalry, 
and  my  heart-strings  resound:  yet,  for  innumerable 
reasons,  I  hesitate  to  take  you  for  my  wife,  and  to  con 
cede  myself  your  appointed  protector,  responsible  as  such 
to  Heaven.  For  one  matter,  I  am  not  altogether  sure 
that  I  am  Heaven's  vicar  here  upon  earth.  Certainly 
the  God  of  Heaven  said  nothing  to  me  about  it,  and  I 
cannot  but  suspect  that  Omniscience  would  have  selected 
seme  more  competent  representative." 

"It  is  so  written,  Messire  Jurgen." 

Jurgen  shrugged.  "I  too,  in  the  intervals  of  business, 
have  written  much  that  is  beautiful.  Very  often  my 
verses  were  so  beautiful  that  I  would  have  given  any 
thing  in  the  world  in  exchange  for  somewhat  less  sure 
information  as  to  the  author's  veracity.  Ah,  no,  madame, 
desire  and  knowledge  are  pressing  me  so  sorely  that, 
between  them,  I  dare  not  love  you,  and  still  I  cannot 
help  it!" 

Then  Jurgen  gave  a  little  wringing  gesture  with  his 
hands.  His  smile  was  not  merry;  and  it  seemed  pitiful 
that  Guenevere  should  not  remember  him. 

"Madame  and  queen,"  says  Jurgen,  "  once  long  and 
long  ago  there  was  a  man  who  worshipped  all  women. 
To  him  they  were  one  and  all  of  sacred,  sweet  intimi 
dating  beauty.  He  shaped  sonorous  rhymes  of  this,  in 
praise  of  the  mystery  and  sanctity  of  women.  Then  a 
count's  tow-headed  daughter  whom  he  loved,  with  such 
love  as  it  puzzles  me  to  think  of  now,  was  shown  to  him 


THE  FAITH  OF  GUENEVERE  337 


just  as  she  was,  as  not  even  worthy  of  hatred.  The 
goddess  stood  revealed,  unveiled,  and  displaying  in  all 
things  such  mediocrity  as  he  fretted  to  find  in  himself. 
That  was  unfortunate.  For  he  began  to  suspect  that 
women,  also,  are  akin  to  their  parents ;  and  are  no  wiser, 
and  no  more  subtle,  and  no  more  immaculate,  than  the 
father  who  begot  them.  Madame  and  queen,  it  is  not 
good  for  any  man  to  suspect  this." 

"It  is  certainly  not  the  conduct  of  a  chivalrous  person, 
nor  of  an  authentic  poet,"  says  Queen  Guenevere.  "And 
yet  your  eyes  are  big  with  tears." 

"Hah,  madame,"  he  replied,  "but  it  amuses  me  to  weep 
for  a  dead  man  with  eyes  that  once  were  his.  For  he  was 
a  dear  lad  before  he  went  rampaging  through  the  world, 
in  the  pride  of  his  youth  and  in  the  armor  of  his  hurt. 
And  songs  he  made  for  the  pleasure  of  kings,  and  sword 
play  he  made  for  the  pleasure  of  men,  and  a  whispering 
he  made  for  the  pleasure  of  women,  in  places  where 
renown  was,  and  where  he  trod  boldly,  giving  pleasure  to* 
everybody  in  those  fine  days.  But  for  all  his  laughter, 
he  could  not  understand  his  fellows,  nor  could  he  love 
them,  nor  could  he  detect  anything  in  aught  they  said 
or  did  save  their  exceeding  folly." 

"Why,  man's  folly  is  indeed  very  great,  Messire  Jurgen, 
and  the  doings  of  this  world  are  often  inexplicable:  and 
so  does  it  come  about  that  man  can  be  saved  by  faith 
alone." 

"Ah,  but  this  boy  had  lost  his  fellows'  cordial  common 
faith  in  the  importance  of  what  use  they  made  of  half- 
hours  and  months  and  years;  and  because  a  jill-flirt  had 
opened  his  eyes  so  that  they  saw  too  much,  he  had  lost 
faith  in  the  importance  of  his  own  actions,  too.  There 


338  JURGEN 


was  a  little  time  of  which  the  passing  might  be  made  not 
unendurable;  beyond  gaped  unpredictable  darkness;  arid 
that  was  all  there  was  of  certainty  anywhere.  Meanwhile, 
he  had  the  loan  of  a  brain  which  played  with  ideas,  and 
a  body  that  went  delicately  down  pleasant  ways.  And 
so  he  was  never  the  mate  for  you,  dear  Guenevere, 
because  he  had  not  sufficient  faith  in  anything  at  all,  not 
even  in  his  own  deductions." 

Now  said  Queen  Guenevere :  "Farewell  to  you,  then, 
Jurgen,  for  it  is  I  that  am  leaving  you  forever.  I  was 
to  them  that  served  me  the  lovely  and  excellent  master- 
work  of  God :  in  Caerleon  and  Northgalis  and  at  Joyeuse 
Garde  might  men  behold  me  with  delight,  because,  men 
said,  to  view  me  was  to  comprehend  the  power  and 
kindliness  of  their  Creator.  Very  beautiful  was  Iseult, 
and  the  face  of  Luned  sparkled  like  a  moving  gem ;  Mor- 
gaine  and  Enid  and  Viviane  and  shrewd  Nimue  were 
lovely,  too;  and  the  comeliness  of  Ettarde  exalted  the 
beholder  like  a  proud  music :  these,  going  statelily  about 
Arthur's  hall,  seemed  Heaven's  finest  craftsmanship  until 
the  Queen  came  to  her  dais,  as  the  moon  among  glowing 
stars :  men  then  affirmed  that  God  in  making  Guenevere 
had  used  both  hands.  And  it  is  I  that  am  leaving  you 
forever.  My  beauty  was  no  human  white  and  red,  said 
they,  but  an  explicit  sign  of  Heaven's  might.  In  ap 
proaching  me  men  thought  of  God,  because  in  me,  they 
said,  His  splendor  was  incarnate.  That  which  I  willed 
was  neither  right  nor  wrong:  it  was  divine.  This  thing 
it  was  that  the  knights  saw  in  me;  this  surety,  as  to  the 
power  and  kindliness  of  their  great  Father,  it  was  of 
which  the  chevaliers  of  yesterday  were  conscious  in  be- 


THE  FAITH  OF  GUENEVERE  339 


holding  me,  and  of  men's  need  to  be  worthy  of  such 
parentage ;  and  it  is  I  that  am  leaving  you  forever." 

Said  Jurgen:  ''I  could  not  see  all  this  in  you,  not 
quite  all  this,  because  of  a  shadow  that  followed  me. 
Now  it  is  too  late,  and  this  is  a  sorrowful  thing  which 
is  happening.  I  am  become  as  a  rudderless  boat  that 
goes  from  wave  to  wave:  I  am  turned  to  unfertile  dust 
which  a  whirlwind  makes  coherent,  and  presently  lets  fall. 
And  so,  farewell  to  you,  Queen  Guenevere,  for  it  is  a 
sorrowful  thing  and  a  very  unfair  thing  that  is  hap 
pening." 

Thus  he  cried  farewell  to  the  daughter  of  Gogyrvan 
Gawr.  And  instantly  she  vanished  like  the  flame  of  a 
blown  out  altar-candle. 


46. 

The  Desire  of  Anditis 


AND  again  Koshchei  waved  his  hand.    Then  came 
to  Jurgen  a  woman  who  was  strangely  gifted 
and  perverse.    Her  dark  eyes  glittered:  upon  her 
head  was  a  net-work  of  red  coral,  with  branches  radiating 
downward,  and  her  tunic  was  of  two  colors,  being  shot 
with  black  and  crimson  curiously  mingled. 

And  Anaitis  also  had  forgotten  Jurgen,  or  else  she  did 
not  recognize  him  in  this  man  of  forty  and  something: 
and  again  belief  awoke  in  Jurgen's  heart  that  this  was 
the  only  woman  whom  Jurgen  had  really  loved,  as  he 
listened  to  Anaitis  and  to  her  talk  of  marvelous  things. 

Of  the  lore  of  Thais  she  spoke,  and  of  the  schooling 
of  Sappho,  and  of  the  secrets  of  Rhodope,  and  of  the' 
mourning  for  Adonis:  and  the  refrain  of  all  her  talking 
was  not  changed.  "For  we  have  but  a  little  while  to 
live,  and  none  knows  his  fate  thereafter.  So  that  a  man 
possesses  nothing  certainly  save  a  brief  loan  of  his  own 
body :  and  yet  the  body  of  man  is  capable  of  much  curious 
pleasure.  As  thus  and  thus/'  says  she.  And  the  bright- 
colored  pensive  woman  spoke  with  antique  directness  of 
matters  that  Jurgen,  being  no  longer  a  scapegrace  of 
twenty-one,  found  rather  embarrassing. 

"Come,  come!"  thinks  he,  "but  it  will  never  do  to 
seem  provincial.  I  believe  that  I  am  actually  blushing." 

340 


THE  DESIRE  OF  ANAITIS  341 


Aloud  he  said:  "Sweetheart,  there  was — why,  not  a. 
half -hour  since ! — a  youth  who  sought  quite  zealously  for 
the  over-mastering  frenzies  you  prattle  about.  But, 
candidly,  he  could  not  find  the  flesh  whose  touch  would 
rouse  insanity.  The  lad  had  opportunities,  too,  let  me 
tell  you!  Hah,  I  recall  with  tenderness  the  glitter  of 
eyes  and  hair,  and  the  gay  garments,  and  the  soft  voices 
of  those  fond  foolish  women,  even  now.  But  he  went 
from  one  pair  of  lips  to  another,  with  an  ardor  that  was 
always  half -feigned,  and  with  protestations  which  were 
conscious  echoes  of  some  romance  or  other.  Such  esca 
pades  were  pleasant  enough :  but  they  were  not  very 
serious,  after  all.  For  these  things  concerned  his  body 
alone:  and  I  am  more  than  an  edifice  of  viands  reared 
by  my  teeth.  To  pretend  that  what  my  body  does  or 
endures  is  of  importance  seems  rather  silly  nowadays.  I 
prefer  to  regard  it  as  a  necessary  beast  of  burden  which 
I  maintain,  at  considerable  expense  and  trouble.  So  I 
shall  make  no  more  pother  about  it." 

But  then  again  Queen  Anaitis  spoke  of  marvelous 
things;  and  he  listened,  fair-mindedly;  for  the  Queen 
spoke  now  of  that  which  was  hers  to  share  with  him. 

"Well,  I  have  heard,"  says  Jurgen,  "that  you  have  a 
notable  residence  in  Cocaigne." 

"But  that  is  only  a  little  country  place,  to  which  I  some 
times  repair  in  summer,  in  order  to  live  rustically.  No, 
Jurgen,  you  must  see  my  palaces.  In  Babylon  I  have  a 
palace  where  many  abide  with  cords  about  them  and  burn 
bran  for  perfume,  while  they  await  that  thing  which  is 
to  befall  them.  In  Armenia  I  have  a  palace  surrounded 
by  vast  gardens,  where  only  strangers  have  the  right  to 
enter:  they  there  receive  a  hospitality  that  is  more  than 


342  JURGEN 


gallant.  In  Paphos  I  have  a  palace  wherein  is  a  little 
pyramid  of  white  stone,  very  curious  to  see:  but  still 
more  curious  is  the  statue  in  my  palace  at  Amathus,  of 
a  bearded  woman,  which  displays  other  features  that 
women  do  not  possess.  And  in  Alexandria  I  have  a 
palace  that  is  tended  by  thirty-six  exceedingly  wise  and 
sacred  persons,  and  wherein  it  is  always  night :  and  there 
folk  seek  for  monstrous  pleasures,  even  at  the  price  of 
instant  death,  and  win  to  both  of  these  swiftly.  Every 
where  my  palaces  stand  upon  high  places  near  the  sea :  so 
they  are  beheld  from  afar  by  those  whom  I  hold  dearest, 
my  beautiful  broad-chested  mariners,  who  do  not  fear 
even  me,  but  know  that  in  my  palaces  they  will  find 
notable  employment.  For  I  must  tell  you  of  what  is  to 
be  encountered  within  these  places  that  are  mine,  and  of 
how  pleasantly  we  pass  our  time  there."  Then  she  told 
him. 

Now  he  listened  more  attentively  than  ever,  and  his 
eyes  were  narrowed,  and  his  lips  were  lax  and  motionless 
and  foolish-looking,  and  he  was  deeply  interested.  For 
Anaitis  had  thought  of  some  new  diversions  since  their 
last  meeting:  and  to  Jurgen,  even  at  forty  and  some 
thing,  this  queen's  voice  was  all  a  horrible  and  strange 
and  lovely  magic.  "She  really  tempts  very  nicely,  too,"  he 
reflected,  with  a  sort  of  pride  in  her. 

Then  Jurgen  growled  and  shook  himself,  half  angrily : 
and  he  tweaked  the  ear  of  Queen  Anaitis. 

"Sweetheart,"  says  he,  "you  paint  a  glowing  picture: 
but  you  are  shrewd  enough  to  borrow  your  pigments  from 
the  day-dreams  of  inexperience.  What  you  prattle  about 
is  not  at  all  as  you  describe  it.  You  forget  you  are  talking 
to  a  widely  married  man  of  varied  experience.  Moreover, 


THE  DESIRE  OF  ANAITIS  343 


I  shudder  to  think  of  what  might  happen  if  Lisa  were 
to  walk  in  unexpectedly.  And  for  the  rest,  all  this  to-do 
over  nameless  delights  and  unspeakable  caresses  and  other 
anonymous  antics  seems  rather  naive.  My  ears  are  beset 
by  eloquent  gray  hairs  which  plead  at  closer  quarters  than 
does  that  fibbing  little  tongue  of  yours.  And  so  be  off 
with  you !" 

With  that  Queen  Anaitis  smiled  very  cruelly,  and  she 
said :  "Farewell  to  you,  then  Jurgen,  for  it  is  I  that  am 
leaving  you  forever.  Henceforward  you  must  fret  away 
much  sunlight  by  interminably  shunning  discomfort  and 
by  indulging  tepid  preferences.  For  I,  and  none  but  I,  can 
waken  that  desire  which  uses  all  of  a  man,  and  so  wastes 
nothing,  even  though  it  leave  that  favored  man  forever 
after  like  wan  ashes  in  the  sunlight.  And  with  you  I 
have  no  more  concern,  for  it  is  I  that  am  leaving  you 
forever.  Join  with  your  graying  fellows,  then !  and  help 
them  to  affront  the  clean  sane  sunlight,  by  making  guilds 
and  laws  and  solemn  phrases  wherewith  to  rid  the  world 
of  me.  I,  Anaitis,  laugh,  and  my  heart  is  a  wave  in  the 
sunlight.  For  there  is  no  power  like  my  power,  and  no 
living  thing  which  can  withstand  my  power;  and  those 
who  deride  me,  as  I  well  know,  are  but  the  dead  dry 
husks  that  a  wind  moves,  with  hissing  noises,  while  I 
harvest  in  open  sunlight.  For  I  am  the  desire  that  uses 
all  of  a  man:  and  it  is  I  that  am  leaving  you  forever." 

Said  Jurgen:  "I  could  not  see  all  this  in  you,  not 
quite  all  this,  because  of  a  shadow  that  followed  me. 
Now  it  is  too  late,  and  this  is  a  sorrowful  thing  which 
is  happening.  I  am  become  as  a  puzzled  ghost  who  fur 
tively  observes  the  doings  of  loud-voiced  ruddy  persons : 
and  I  am  compact  of  weariness  and  apprehension,  for  I 


344  JURGEN 


no  longer  discern  what  thing  is  I,  nor  what  is  my  desire, 
and  I  fear  that  I  am  already  dead.  So  farewell  to  you, 
Queen  Anaitis,  for  this,  too,  is  a  sorrowful  thing  and  a 
very  unfair  thing  that  is  happening/' 

Thus  he  cried  farewell  to  the  Sun's  daughter.  And  all 
the  colors  of  her  loveliness  flickered  and  merged  into  the 
likeness  of  a  tall  thin  flame,  that  aspired;  and  then  this 
flame  was  extinguished. 


47. 

The  Vision  of  Helen 


AND  for  the  third  time  Koshchei  waved  his  hand. 
Now  came  to  Jurgen  a  gold-haired  woman, 
clothed  all  in  white.  She  was  tall,  and  lovely 
and  tender  to  regard:  and  hers  was  not  the  red  and 
white  comeliness  of  many  ladies  that  were  famed  for 
beauty,  but  rather  it  had  the  even  glow  of  ivory.  Her 
nose  was  large  and  high  in  the  bridge,  her  flexible  mouth 
was  not  of  the  smallest ;  and  yet,  whatever  other  persons 
might  have  said,  to  Jurgen  this  woman's  countenance  was 
in  all  things  perfect.  And,  beholding  her,  Jurgen  kneeled. 

He  hid  his  face  in  her  white  robe:  and  he  stayed  thus, 
without  speaking,  for  a  long  while. 

"Lady  of  my  vision,"  he  said,  and  his  voice  broke — 
"there  is  that  in  you  which  wakes  old  memories.  For 
now  assuredly  I  believe  your  father  was  not  Dom  Manuel 
but  that  ardent  bird  which  nestled  very  long  ago  in  Leda's 
bosom.  And  now  Troy's  sons  are  all  in  Ades'  keeping, 
in  the  world  below ;  fire  has  consumed  the  walls  of  Troy, 
and  the  years  have  forgotten  her  tall  conquerors;  but 
still  you  are  bringing  woe  on  woe  to  hapless  sufferers." 

And  again  his  voice  broke.  For  the  world  seemed 
cheerless,  and  like  a  house  that  none  has  lived  in  for  a 
great  while. 

Queen  Helen,  the  delight  of  gods  and  men,  replied 

345 


346  JURGEN 


nothing  at  all,  because  there  was  no  need,  inasmuch  as 
the  man  who  has  once  glimpsed  her  loveliness  is  beyond 
saving,  and  beyond  the  desire  of  being  saved. 

"To-night,"  says  Jurgen,  "as  once  through  the  gray  art 
of  Phobetor,  now  through  the  will  of  Koshchei,  it  appears 
that  you  stand  within  arm's  reach.  Hah,  lady,  were  that 
possible — and  I  know  very  well  it  is  not  possible,  what 
ever  my  senses  may  report, — I  am  not  fit  to  mate  with 
your  perfection.  At  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  I  no  longer 
desire  perfection.  For  we  who  are  tax-payers  as  well  as 
immortal  souls  must  live  by  politic  evasions  and  formula? 
and  catchwords  that  fret  away  our  lives  as  moths  waste 
a  garment;  we  fall  insensibly  to  common-sense  as  to  a 
drug;  and  it  dulls  and  kills  whatever  in  us  is  rebellious 
and  fine  and  unreasonable ;  and  so  you  will  find  no  man 
of  my  years  with  whom  living  is  not  a  mechanism  which 
gnaws  away  time  unprompted.  For  within  this  hour  I 
have  become  again  a  creature  of  use  and  wont ;  I  am  the 
lackey  of  prudence  and  half-measures;  and  I  have  put 
my  dreams  upon  an  allowance.  Yet  even  now  I  love 
you  more  than  I  love  books  and  indolence  and  flattery 
and  the  charitable  wine  which  cheats  me  into  a  favorable 
opinion  of  myself.  What  more  can  an  old  poet  say? 
For  that  reason,  lady,  I  pray  you  begone,  because  your 
loveliness  is  a  taunt  which  I  find  unendurable." 

But  his  voice  yearned,  because  this  was  Queen  Helen, 
the  delight  of  gods  and  men,  who  regarded  him  with 
grave,  kind  eyes.  She  seemed  to  view,  as  one  appraises 
the  pattern  of  an  unrolled  carpet,  every  action  of  Jurgen's 
life:  and  she  seemed,  too,  to  wonder,  without  reproach 
or  trouble,  how  men  could  be  so  foolish,  and  of  their 
own  accord  become  so  miry. 


THE  VISION  OF  HELEN  347 


"Oh,  I  have  failed  my  vision !"  cries  Jurgen.  "I  have 
failed,  and  I  know  very  well  that  every  man  must  fail : 
and  yet  my  shame  is  no  less  bitter.  For  I  am  transmuted 
by  time's  handling!  I  shudder  at  the  thought  of  living 
day-in  and  day-out  with  my  vision !  And  so  I  will  have 
none  of  you  for  my  wife." 

Then,  trembling,  Jurgen  raised  toward  his  lips  the  hand 
of  her  who  was  the  world's  darling. 

"And  so  farewell  to  you,  Queen  Helen!  Oh,  very 
long  ago  I  found  your  beauty  mirrored  in  a  wanton's 
face!  and  often  in  a  woman's  face  I  have  found  one 
or  another  feature  wherein  she  resembled  you,  and  for 
the  sake  of  it  have  lied  to  that  woman  glibly.  And  all 
my  verses,  as  I  know  now,  were  vain  enchantments 
striving  to  evoke  that  hidden  loveliness  of  which  I  knew 
by  dim  report  alone.  Oh,  all  my  life  was  a  foiled  quest 
of  you,  Queen  Helen,  and  an  unsatiated  hungering. 
And  for  a  while  I  served  my  vision,  honoring  you  with 
clean-handed  deeds.  Yes,  certainly  it  should  be  graved 
upon  my  tomb,  'Queen  Helen  ruled  this  earth  while  it 
stayed  worthy.'  But  that  was  very  long  ago. 

"And  so  farewell  to  you,  Queen  Helen !  Your  beauty 
has  been  to  me  as  a  robber  that  stripped  my  life  of 
joy  and  sorrow,  and  I  desire  not  ever  to  dream  of  your 
beauty  any  more.  For  I  have  been  able  to  love  nobody. 
And  I  know  that  it  is  you  who  have  prevented  this, 
Queen  Helen,  at  every  moment  of  my  life  since  the 
disastrous  moment  when  I  first  seemed  to  find  your 
loveliness  in  the  face  of  Madame  Dorothy.  It  is  the 
memory  of  your  beauty,  as  I  then  saw  it  mirrored  in 
the  face  of  a  j ill-flirt,  which  has  enfeebled  me  for  such 
honest  love  as  other  men  give  women ;  and  I  envy  these 


348  JURGEN 


other  men.  For  Jurgen  has  loved  nothing — not  even 
you,  not  even  Jurgen! — quite  whole-heartedly. 

"And  so  farewell  to  you,  Queen  Helen!  Hereafter 
I  rove  no  more  a-questing  anything;  instead,  I  potter 
after  hearthside  comforts,  and  play  the  physician  with 
myself,  and  strive  painstakingly  to  make  old  bones.  And 
no  man's  notion  anywhere  seems  worth  a  cup  of  mulled 
wine;  and  for  the  sake  of  no  notion  would  I  endanger 
the  routine  which  so  hideously  bores  me.  For  I  am 
transmuted  by  time's  handling ;  I  have  become  the  lackey 
of  prudence  and  half-measures;  and  it  does  not  seem 
fair,  but  there  is  no  help  for  it.  So  it  is  necessary 
that  I  now  cry  farewell  to  you,  Queen  Helen:  for  I 
have  failed  in  the  service  of  my  vision,  and  I  deny 
you  utterly!" 

Thus  he  cried  farewell  to  the  Swan's  daughter:  and 
Queen  Helen  vanished  as  a  bright  mist  passes,  not  de 
parting  swiftly,  as  had  departed  Queen  Guenevere  and 
Queen  Anaitis;  and  Jurgen  was  alone  with  the  black 
gentleman.  And  to  Jurgen  the  world  seemed  cheerless, 
and  like  a  house  that  none  has  lived  in  for  a  great  while. 


48. 

Candid  Opinions  of  Dame  Lisa 


TTT^  H,  sirs !"  observes  Koshchei  the  Deathless,  "but 
iM    some  of  us  are  certainly  hard  to  please." 
-• — '     And  now  Jurgen  was  already  intent  to  shrug 
off  his  display  of  emotion.     "In  selecting  a  wife,  sir," 
submitted  Jurgen,  "there  are  all  sorts  of  matters  to  be 
considered — " 

Then  bewilderment  smote  him.  For  it  occurred  to 
Jurgen  that  his  previous  commerce  with  these  three 
women  was  patently  unknown  to  Koshchei.  Why,  Kosh 
chei,  who  made  all  things  as  they  are — Koshchei,  no 
less — was  now  doing  for  Jurgen  Koshchei's  utmost: 
and  that  utmost  amounted  to  getting  for  Jurgen  what 
Jurgen  had  once,  with  the  aid  of  youth  and  impudence, 
got  for  himself.  Not  even  Koshchei,  then,  could  do  more 
for  Jurgen  than  might  be  accomplished  by  that  youth  and 
impudence  and  tendency  to  pry  into  things  generally 
which  Jurgen  had  just  relinquished  as  over-restless 
nuisances.  Jurgen  drew  the  inference,  and  shrugged; 
decidedly  cleverness  was  not  at  the  top.  However,  there 
was  no  pressing  need  to  enlighten  Koshchei,  and  no 
wisdom  in  attempting  it. 

" — For  you  must  understand,  sir,"  continued  Jurgen, 
smoothly,  "that,  whatever  the  first  impulse  of  the  moment, 
it  was  apparent  to  any  reflective  person  that  in  the  past 

349 


350  JURGEN 


of  each  of  these  ladies  there  was  much  to  suggest  inborn 
inaptitude  for  domestic  life.  And  I  am  a  peace-loving 
fellow,  sir;  nor  do  I  hold  with  moral  laxity,  now  that  I 
am  forty-odd,  except,  of  course,  in  talk  when  it  promotes 
sociability,  and  in  verse-making  wherein  it  is  esteemed 
as  a  conventional  ornament.  Still,  Prince,  the  chance  I 
lost!  I  do  not  refer  to  matrimony,  you  conceive.  But 
in  the  presence  of  these  famous  fair  ones  now  departed 
from  me  forever,  with  what  glowing  words  I  ought  to 
have  spoken!  upon  a  wondrous  ladder  of  tropes,  meta 
phors  and  recondite  allusions,  to  what  stylistic  heights  of 
Asiatic  prose  I  ought  to  have  ascended!  and  instead,  I 
twaddled  like  a  schoolmaster.  Decidedly,  Lisa  is  right, 
and  I  am  good-for-nothing.  However,"  Jurgen  added, 
hopefully,  "it  appeared  to  me  that  when  I  last  saw  her, 
a  year  ago  this  evening,  Lisa  was  somewhat  less  out 
spoken  than  usual." 

"Eh,  sirs,  but  she  was  under  a  very  potent  spell.  I 
found  that  necessary  in  the  interest  of  law  and  order  here 
abouts.  I,  who  made  things  as  they  are,  am  not  accus 
tomed  to  the  excesses  of  practical  persons  who  are 
ruthlessly  bent  upon  reforming  their  associates.  Indeed, 
it  is  one  of  the  advantages  of  my  situation  that  such 
folk  do  not  consider  things  as  they  are,  and  in  conse^ 
quence  very  rarely  bother  me."  And  the  black  gentle 
man  in  turn  shrugged.  "You  will  pardon  me,  but  I 
notice  in  my  accounts  that  I  am  positively  committed  to 
color  this  year's  anemones  to-night,  and  there  is  a  rather 
large  planetary  system  to  be  discontinued  at  half-past 
ten.  So  time  presses." 

"And  time  is  inexorable.  Prince,  with  all  due  respect, 
I  fancy  it  is  precisely  this  truism  which  you  have  over- 


CANDID  OPINIONS  OF  DAME  LISA  351 


looked.  You  produce  the  most  charming  of  women,  in 
a  determined  onslaught  upon  my  fancy;  but  you  forget 
you  are  displaying  them  to  a  man  of  forty-and-some- 
thing." 

"And  does  that  make  so  great  a  difference?" 

"Oh,  a  sad  difference,  Prince !  For  as  a  man  gets  on 
in  life  he  changes  in  many  ways.  He  handles  sword  and 
lance  less  creditably,  and  does  not  carry  as  heavy  a  staff 
as  he  once  flourished.  He  takes  less  interest  in  conversa 
tion,  and  his  flow  of  humor  diminishes.  He  is  not  the 
tireless  mathematician  that  he  was,  if  only  because  his 
faith  in  his  personal  endowments  slackens.  He  recognizes 
his  limitations,  and  in  consequence  the  unimportance  of 
his  opinions,  and  indeed  he  recognizes  the  probable  un 
importance  of  all  fleshly  matters.  So  he  relinquishes 
trying  to  figure  out  things,  and  sceptres  and  candles 
appear  to  him  about  equivalent;  and  he  is  inclined  to 
give  up  philosophical  experiments,  and  to  let  things  pass 
uuplumbed.  Oh,  yes,  it  makes  a  difference."  And  Jur- 
gen  sighed.  "And  yet,  for  all  that,  it  is  a  relief,  sir,  in 
a  way." 

"Nevertheless,"  said  Koshchei,  "now  that  you  have  in 
spected  the  flower  of  womanhood,  I  cannot  soberly  believe 
you  prefer  your  termagant  of  a  wife." 

"Frankly,  Prince,  I  also  am,  as  usual,  undecided.  You 
may  be  right  in  all  you  have  urged ;  and  certainly  I  can 
not  go  so  far  as  to  say  you  are  wrong;  but  still,  at  the 
same  time — !  Come  now,  could  you  not  let  me  see  my 
first  wife  for  just  a  moment?" 

This  was  no  sooner  asked  than  granted ;  for  there,  sure 
enough,  was  Dame  Lisa.  She  was  no  longer  restricted 
to  quiet  speech  by  any  stupendous  necromancy'  and  un- 


352  JURGEN 


commonly  plain  she  looked,  after  the  passing  of  those 
lovely  ladies. 

"Aha,  you  rascal!"  begins  Dame  Lisa,  addressing 
Jurgen;  "and  so  you  thought  to  be  rid  of  me!  Oh,  a 
precious  lot  you  are !  and  a  deal  of  thanks  I  get  for  n:y 
scrimping  and  slaving!"  And  she  began  scolding  away. 

But  she  began,  somewhat  to  Jurgen's  astonishment,  by 
stating  that  he  was  even  worse  than  the  Countess  Dorothy. 
Then  he  recollected  that,  by  not  the  most  disastrous  piece 
of  luck  conceivable,  Dame  Lisa's  latest  news  from  the 
outside  world  had  been  rendered  by  her  sister,  the 
notary's  wife,  a  twelvemonth  back. 

And  rather  unaccountably  Jurgen  fell  to  thinking  of  how 
unsubstantial  seemed  these  curious  months  devoted  to 
other  women,  as  set  against  the  commonplace  years 
which  he  and  Lisa  had  fretted  through  together;  of  the 
fine  and  merry  girl  that  Lisa  had  been  before  she  married 
him;  of  how  well  she  knew  his  tastes  in  cookery  and 
all  his  little  preferences,  and  of  how  cleverly  she  humored 
them  on  those  rare  days  when  nothing  had  occurred  to 
vex  her;  of  all  the  buttons  she  had  replaced,  and  all  the 
socks  she  had  darned,  and  of  what  tempests  had  been 
loosed  when  anyone  else  had  had  the  audacity  to  criticize 
Jurgen;  and  of  how  much  more  unpleasant — everything 
considered — life  was  without  her  than  with  her.  She 
was  so  unattractive  looking,  too,  poor  dear,  that  you 
could  not  but  be  sorry  for  her.  And  Jurgen's  mood 
was  half  yearning  and  half  penitence. 

"I  think  I  will  take  her  back,  Prince,"  says  Jurgen, 
very  subdued, — "now  that  I  am  forty-and-something. 
For  I  do  not  know  but  it  is  as  hard  on  her  as  on  me/' 

"My  friend,  do  you  forget  the  poet  that  you  might 


CANDID  OPINIONS  OF  DAME  LISA  353 


be,  even  yet?  No  rational  person  would  dispute  that 
the  society  and  amiable  chat  of  Dame  Lisa  must  naturally 
be  a  desideratum — " 

But  Dame  Lisa  was  always  resentful  of  long  words. 
"Be  silent,  you  black  scoffer,  and  do  not  allude  to  such 
disgraceful  things  in  the  presence  of  respectable  people! 
For  I  am  a  decent  Christian  woman,  I  would  have  you 
understand.  But  everybody  knows  your  reputation !  and 
a  very  fit  companion  you  are  for  that  scamp  yonder !  and 
volumes  could  not  say  more !" 

Thus  casually,  and  with  comparative  lenience,  did 
Dame  Lisa  dispose  of  Koshchei,  who  made  things  as 
they  are,  for  she  believed  him  to  be  merely  Satan.  And 
to  her  husband  Dame  Lisa  now  addressed  herself  more 
particularly. 

"Jurgen,  I  always  told  you  you  would  come  to  this, 
and  now  I  hope  you  are  satisfied.  Jurgen,  do  not  stand 
there  with  your  mouth  open,  like  a  scared  fish,  when  I 
ask  you  a  civil  question !  but  answer  when  you  are  spoken 
to!  Yes,  and  you  need  not  try  to  look  so  idiotically 
innocent,  Jurgen,  because  I  am  disgusted  with  you.  For, 
Jurgen,  you  heard  perfectly  well  what  your  very  suitable 
friend  just  said  about  me,  with  my  own  husband  standing 
by.  No — now  I  beg  of  you! — do  not  ask  me  what  he 
said,  Jurgen !  I  leave  that  to  your  conscience,  and  I  prefer 
to  talk  no  more  about  it.  You  know  that  when  I  am  once 
disappointed  in  a  person  I  am  through  with  that  person. 
So,  very  luckily,  there  is  no  need  at  all  for  you  to  pile 
hypocrisy  on  cowardice,  because  if  my  own  husband 
has  not  the  feelings  of  a  man,  and  cannot  protect  me 
from  insults  and  low  company,  I  had  best  be  going  home 
and  getting  supper  ready.  I  dare  say  the  house  is  like  a 


354  JURGEN 


pig-sty:  and  I  can  see  by  looking  at  you  that  you  have 
been  ruining  your  eyes  by  reading  in  bed  again.  And! 
to  think  of  your  going  about  in  public,  even  among  such 
associates,  with  a  button  off  your  shirt!" 

She  was  silent  for  one  terrible  moment;  then  Lisa 
spoke  in  frozen  despair. 

"And  now  I  look  at  that  shirt,  I  ask  you  fairly,  Jurgen, 
do  you  consider  that  a  man  of  your  age  has  any  right. 
to  be  going  about  in  a  shirt  that  nobody — in  a  shirt  which 
— in  a  shirt  that  I  can  only — Ah,  but  I  never  saw  such 
a  shirt !  and  neither  did  anybody  else !  You  simply  can 
not  imagine  what  a  figure  you  cut  in  it,  Jurgen.  Jurgen, 
I  have  been  patient  with  you ;  I  have  put  up  with  a  great 
deal,  saying  nothing  where  many  women  would  have  lost 
their  temper ;  but  I  simply  cannot  permit  you  to  select 
your  own  clothes,  and  so  ruin  the  business  and  take  the 
bread  out  of  our  mouths.  In  short,  you  are  enough  to 
drive  a  person  mad;  and  I  warn  you  that  I  am  done 
with  you  forever." 

Dame  Lisa  went  with  dignity  to  the  door  of  Koshchei's 
office. 

"So  you  can  come  with  me  or  not,  precisely  as  you  elect. 
It  is  all  one  to  me,  I  can  assure  you,  after  the  cruel 
things  you  have  said,  and  the  way  you  have  stormed  at 
me,  and  have  encouraged  that  notorious  blackamoor  to 
insult  me  in  terms  which  I,  for  one,  would  not  soil  my 
lips  by  repeating.  I  do  not  doubt  you  consider  it  is  all 
very  clever  and  amusing,  but  you  know  now  what  I  think 
about  it.  And  upon  the  whole,  if  you  do  not  feel  the 
exertion  will  kill  you,  you  had  better  come  home  the 
long  way,  and  stop  by  Sister's  and  ask  her  to  let  you  have 


CANDID  OPINIONS  OF  DAME  LISA  355 


a  half-pound  of  butter ;  for  I  know  you  too  well  to  sup 
pose  you  have  been  attending  to  the  churning." 

Dame  Lisa  here  evinced  a  stately  sort  of  mirth  such 
as  is  unimaginable  by  bachelors. 

"You  churning  while  I  was  away ! — oh,  no,  not  you ! 
There  is  probably  not  so  much  as  an  egg  in  the  house. 
For  my  lord  and  gentleman  has  had  other  fish  to  fry, 
in  his  fine  new  courting  clothes.  And  that — and  on  a 
man  of  your  age,  with  a  paunch  to  you  like  a  beer  barrel 
and  with  legs  like  pipe-stems ! — yes,  that  infamous  shirt 
of  yours  is  the  reason  you  had  better,  for  your  own  com 
fort,  come  home  the  long  way.  For  I  warn  you,  Jurgen, 
that  the  style  in  which  I  have  caught  you  rigged  out  has 
quite  decided  me,  before  I  go  home  or  anywhere  else,  to 
stop  by  for  a  word  or  so  with  your  high  and  mighty 
Madame  Dorothy.  So  you  had  just  as  well  not  be  along 
with  me,  for  there  is  no  pulling  wool  over  my  eyes  any 
longer,  and  you  two  need  never  think  to  hoodwink  me 
again  about  your  goings-on.  No,  Jurgen,  you  cannot  fool 
me ;  for  I  can  read  you  like  a  book.  And  such  behavior, 
at  your  time  of  life,  does  not  surprise  me  at  all,  because 
it  is  precisely  what  I  would  have  expected  of  you." 

With  that  Dame  Lisa  passed  through  the  door  and 
went  away,  still  talking.  It  was  of  Heitman  Michael's 
wife  that  the  wife  of  Jurgen  spoke,  discoursing  of  the 
personal  traits,  and  of  the  past  doings,  and  (with  aug 
mented  fervor)  of  the  figure  and  visage  of  Madame 
Dorothy,  as  all  these  abominations  appeared  to  the  eye 
of  discernment,  and  must  be  revealed  by  the  tongue  of 
candor,  as  a  matter  of  public  duty. 

So  passed  Dame  Lisa,  neither  as  flame  nor  mist,  but 
as  the  voice  of  judgment. 


49. 

Of  the  Compromise  with  Koshchei 


TP^HEW!"  said  Koshchei,  in  the  ensuing  silence: 
|^   "you  had  better  stay  overnight,  in  any  event. 
-*•       I  really  think,  friend,  you  will  be  more  com 
fortable,  just  now  at  least,  in  this  quiet  cave." 

But  Jurgen  had  taken  up  his  hat.  "No,  I  dare  say  I, 
too.  had  better  be  going,"  says  Jurgen.  "I  thank  you 
very  heartily  for  your  intended  kindness,  sir,  still  I  do 
not  know  but  it  is  better  as  it  is.  And  is  there  anything" 
— Jurgen  coughed  delicately — "and  is  there  anything  to 
pay,  sir?" 

"Oh,  just  a  trifle,  first  of  all,  for  a  year's  maintenance 
of  Dame  Lisa.  You  see,  Jurgen,  that  is  an  almighty  fine 
shirt  you  are  wearing:  it  rather  appeals  to  me;  and  I 
tancy,  from  something  your  wife  let  drop  just  now,  it 
did  not  impress  her  as  being  quite  suited  to  you.  So, 
in  the  interest  of  domesticity,  suppose  you  ransom  Dame 
Lisa  with  that  fine  shirt  of  yours?" 

"Why,  willingly,"  said  Jurgen,  and  he  took  off  the 
shirt  of  Nessus. 

"You  have  worn  this  for  some  time,  I  understand," 
said  Koshchei,  meditatively:  "and  did  you  ever  notice 
any  inconvenience  in  wearing  this  garment  ?" 

"Not  that  I  could  detect,  Prince;  it  fitted  me,  and 
seemed  to  impress  everybody  most  favorably." 

356 


OF  THE  COMPROMISE  WITH  KOSHCHEI        357 


"There!"  said  Koshchei;  "that  is  what  I  have  always 
contended.  To  the  strong  man,  and  to  wholesome  matter 
of  fact  people  generally,  it  is  a  fatal  irritant ;  but  persons 
like  you  can  wear  the  shirt  of  Nessus  very  comfortably 
for  a  long,  long  while,  and  be  generally  admired;  and 
you  end  by  exchanging  it  for  your  wife's  society.  But 
now,  Jurgen,  about  yourself.  You  probably  noticed  that 
my  door  was  marked  Keep  Out.  One  must  have  rules, 
you  know.  Often  it  is  a  nuisance,  but  still  rules  are 
rules ;  and  so  I  must  tell  you,  Jurgen,  it  is  not  permitted 
any  person  to  leave  my  presence  unmaimed,  if  not  actu 
ally  annihilated.  One  really  must  have  rules,  you  know." 

"You  would  chop  off  an  arm?  or  a  hand?  or  a  whole 
ringer?  Come  now,  Prince,  you  must  be  joking!" 

Koshchei  the  Deathless  was  very  grave  as  he  sat  there, 
in  meditation,  drumming  with  his  long  jet-black  fingers 
upon  the  table-top  that  was  curiously  inlaid  with  thirty 
pieces  of  silver.  In  the  lamplight  his  sharp  nails  glit 
tered  like  flame  points,  and  the  color  suddenly  with 
drew  from  his  eyes,  so  that  they  showed  like  small  white 
eggs. 

"But,  man,  how  strange  you  are!"  said  Koshchei, 
presently ;  and  life  flowed  back  into  his  eyes,  and  Jurgen 
ventured  the  liberty  of  breathing.  "Inside,  I  mean. 
Why,  there  is  hardly  anything  left.  Now  rules  are  rules, 
of  course ;  but  you,  who  are  the  remnant  of  a  poet,  may 
depart  unhindered  whenever  you  will,  and  I  shall  take 
nothing  from  you.  For  really  it  is  necessary  to  draw 
the  line  somewhere." 

Jurgen  meditated  this  clemency ;  and  with  a  sick  heart 
he  seemed  to  understand.  "Yes;  that  is  probably  the 
truth ;  for  I  have  not  retained  the  faith,  nor  the  desire* 


358  JURGEN 


I! 


nor  the  vision.  Yes,  that  is  probably  the  truth.  Wellr 
at  all  events,  Prince,  I  very  unfeignedly  admired  each  of 
the  ladies  to  whom  you  were  friendly  enough  to  present 
me,  and  I  was  greatly  flattered  by  their  offers.  More 
than  generous  I  thought  them.  But  it  really  would  not 
do  for  me  to  take  up  with  any  one  of  them  now.  For 
Lisa  is  my  wife,  you  see.  A  great  deal  has  passed  be 
tween  us,  sir,  in  the  last  ten  years — And  I  have  been  a 
sore  disappointment  to  her,  in  many  ways — And  I  am 
used  to  her — " 

Then  Jurgen  considered,  and  regarded  the  black  gentle 
man  with  mingled  envy  and  commiseration.  "Why,  no, 
you  probably  would  not  understand,  sir,  on  account  of 
your  not  being,  I  suppose,  a  married  person.  But  I  can 
assure  you  it  is  always  pretty  much  like  that." 

"I  lack  grounds  to  dispute  your  aphorism,"  observed 
Koshchei,  "inasmuch  as  matrimony  was  certainly  not  in-" 
eluded  in  my  doom.  None  the  less,  to  a  by-stander,  the 
conduct  of  you  both  appears  remarkable.  I  could  not 
understand,  for  example,  just  how  your  wife  proposed 
to  have  you  keep  out  of  her  sight  forever  and  still  have 
supper  with  her  to-night;  nor  why  she  should  desire  to 
sup  with  such  a  reprobate  as  she  described  with  unbridled 
pungency  and  disapproval." 

"Ah,  but  again,  it  is  always  pretty  much  like  that,  sir. 
And  the  truth  of  it,  Prince,  is  a  great  symbol.  The  truth 
of  it  is,  we  have  lived  together  so  long  that  my  wife  has 
become  rather  foolishly  fond  of  me.  So  she  is  not,  as 
one  might  say,  quite  reasonable  about  me.  No,  sir;  it 
is  the  fashion  of  women  to  discard  civility  toward  those 
for  whom  they  suffer  most  willingly ;  and  whom  a  woman 
loveth  she  chasteneth,  after  a  good  precedent." 


OF  THE  COMPROMISE  WITH  KOSHCHEI         359 


"But  her  talking,  Jurgen,  has  nowhere  any  precedent. 
Why,  it  deafens,  it  appals,  it  submerges  you  in  an  up 
roarious  sea  of  fault-finding;  and  in  a  word,  you  might 
as  profitably  oppose  a  hurricane.  Yet  you  want  her 
back !  Now  assuredly,  Jurgen,  I  do  not  think  very  highly 
of  your  wisdom,  but  by  your  bravery  I  am  astounded/' 

"Ah,  Prince,  it  is  because  I  can  perceive  that  all  women 
are  poets,  though  the  medium  they  work  in  is  not  always 
ink.  So  the  moment  Lisa  is  set  free  from  what,  in  a 
manner  of  speaking,  sir,  inconsiderate  persons  might,  in 
their  unthinking  way,  refer  to  as  the  terrors  of  an  under 
ground  establishment  that  I  do  not  for  an  instant  doubt 
to  be  conducted  after  a  system  which  furthers  the  true 
interests  of  everybody,  and  so  reflects  vast  credit  upon  its 
officials,  if  you  will  pardon  my  frankness" — and  Jurgen 
smiled  ingratiatingly, — "why,  at  that  moment  Lisa's 
thoughts  take  form  in  very  much  the  high  denunciatory 
style  of  Jeremiah  and  Amos,  who  were  remarkably  fine 
poets.  Her  concluding  observations  as  to  the  Countess, 
in  particular,  I  consider  to  have  been  an  example  of 
sustained  invective  such  as  one  rarely  encounters  in  this  f 
degenerate  age.  Well,  her  next  essay  in  creative  com 
position  is  my  supper,  which  will  be  an  equally  spirited 
impromptu.  To-morrow  she  will  darn  and  sew  me  an 
epic;  and  her  desserts  will  continue  to  be  in  the  richest  j 
lyric  vein.  Such,  sir,  are  the  poems  of  Lisa,  all  addressed 
to  me,  who  came  so  near  to  gallivanting  with  mere 
queens !" 

"What,  can  it  be  that  you  are  remorseful  ?"  said  Kosh- 
chei. 

"Oh,  Prince,  when  I  consider  steadfastly  the  depth 
and  the  intensity  of  that  devotion  which,  for  so  many 


360  JURGEN 


years,  has  tended  me,  and  has  endured  the  society  of  that 
person  whom  I  peculiarly  know  to  be  the  most  tedious 
and  irritating  of  companions,  I  stand  aghast,  before  a 
miracle.  And  I  cry,  Oh,  certainly  a  goddess !  and  I  can 
think  of  no  queen  who  is  fairly  mentionable  in  the  same 
breath.  Hah,  all  we  poets  write  a  deal  about  love:  but 
none  of  us  may  grasp  the  word's  full  meaning  until  he 
reflects  that  this  is  a  passion  mighty  enough  to  induce  a 
woman  to  put  up  with  him." 

"Even  so,  it  does  not  seem  to  induce  quite  thorough 
confidence.  Jurgen,  I  was  grieved  to  see  that  Dame  Lisa 
evidently  suspects  you  of  running  after  some  other  wo 
man  in  your  wife's  absence." 

"Think  upon  that  now !  And  you  saw  for  yourself  how 
little  the  handsomest  of  women  could  tempt  me.  Yet 
even  Lisa's  absurd  notion  I  can  comprehend  and  pardon. 
And  again,  you  probably  would  not  understand  my  over 
looking  such  a  thing,  sir,  on  account  of  your  not  being  a 
married  person.  Nevertheless,  my  forgiveness  also  is  a 
great  symbol." 

Then  Jurgen  sighed  and  he  shook  hands,  very  cir 
cumspectly,  with  Koshchei,  who  made  things  as  they  are ; 
and  Jurgen  started  out  of  the  office. 

"But  I  will  bear  you  company  a  part  of  the  way," 
says  Koshchei. 

So  Koshchei  removed  his  dressing-gown,  and  he  put 
on  the  fine  laced  coat  which  was  hung  over  the  back  of 
a  strange  looking  chair  with  three  legs,  each  of  a  different 
metal ;  the  shirt  of  Nessus  Koshchei  folded  and  put  aside, 
saying  that  some  day  he  might  be  able  to  use  it  somehow. 
And  Koshchei  paused  before  the  blackboard  and  he 
scratched  his  head  reflectively.  Jurgen  saw  that  this 


OF  THE  COMPROMISE  WITH  KOSHCHEI         361 


board  was  nearly  covered  with  figures  which  had  not  yet 
been  added  up;  and  this  blackboard  seemed  to  him  the 
most  frightful  thing  he  had  faced  anywhere. 

Then  Koshchei  came  out  of  the  cave  with  Jurgen,  and 
Koshchei  walked  with  Jurgen  across  Amneran  Heath, 
and  through  Morven,  in  the  late  evening.  And  Koshchei 
talked  as  they  went;  and  a  queer  thing  Jurgen  noticed, 
and  it  was  that  the  moon  was  sinking  in  the  east,  as 
though  the  time  were  getting  earlier  and  earlier.  But 
Jurgen  did  not  presume  to  criticize  this,  in  the  presence 
of  Koshchei,  who  made  things  as  they  are. 

"And  I  manage  affairs  as  best  I  can,  Jurgen.  But  they' 
get  in  a  fearful  muddle  sometimes.  Eh,  sirs,  I  have  no 
competent  assistants.  I  have  to  look  out  for  everything, 
absolutely  everything!  And  of  course,  while  in  a  sort  of 
way  I  am  infallible,  mistakes  will  occur  every  now  and 
then  in  the  actual  working  out  of  plans  that  in  the  ab 
stract  are  right  enough.  So  it  really  does  please  me  to 
hear  anybody  putting  in  a  kind  word  for  things  as  they 
are,  because,  between  ourselves,  there  is  a  deal  of  dis 
satisfaction  about.  And  I  was  honestly  delighted,  just 
now,  to  hear  you  speaking  up  for  evil  in  the  face  of 
that  rapscallion  monk.  So  I  give  you  thanks  and  many 
thanks,  Jurgen,  for  your  kind  word." 

"  'Just  now !'  "  thinks  Jurgen.  He  perceived  that  they 
had  passed  the  Cistercian  Abbey,  and  were  approaching 
Bellegarde.  And  it  was  as  in  a  dream  that  Jurgen  was 
speaking.  "Who  are  you,  and  why  do  you  thank  me?'' 
asks  Jurgen. 

"My  name  is  no  great  matter.  But  you  have  a  kind 
heart,  Jurgen.  May  your  life  be  free  from  care." 

"Save  us  from  hurt  and  harm,  friend,  but  I  am  already 


362  JURGEN 


married — "  Then  resolutely  Jurgen  put  aside  the  spell 
that  was  befogging  him.  "See  here,  Prince,  are  you 
beginning  all  over  again?  For  I  really  cannot  stand 
any  more  of  your  benevolences." 

Koshchei  smiled.  "No,  Jurgen,  I  am  not  beginning 
all  over  again.  For  now  I  have  never  begun,  and  now 
there  is  no  word  of  truth  in  anything  which  you  remem 
ber  of  the  year  just  past.  Now  none  of  these  things 
has  ever  happened." 

"But  how  can  that  be,  Prince?" 

"Why  should  I  tell  you,  Jurgen?  Let  it  suffice  that 
what  I  will,  not  only  happens,  but  has  already  happened, 
beyond  the  ancientest  memory  of  man  and  his  mother. 
How  otherwise  could  I  be  Koshchei?  And  so  farewell 
to  you,  poor  Jurgen,  to  whom  nothing  in  particular  has 
happened  now.  It  is  not  justice  I  am  giving  you,  but 
something  infinitely  more  acceptable  to  you  and  all  your 
kind." 

"But,  to  be  sure !"  says  Jurgen.  "I  fancy  that  nobody 
anywhere  cares  much  for  justice.  So  farewell  to  you, 
Prince.  And  at  our  parting  I  ask  no  more  questions  of 
you,  for  I  perceive  it  is  scant  comfort  a  man  gets  from 
questioning  Koshchei,  who  made  things  as  they  are.  But 
I  am  wondering  what  pleasure  you  get  out  of  it  all?" 

"Eh,  sirs,"  says  Koshchei,  with  not  the  most  candid 
of  smiles,  "I  contemplate  the  spectacle  with  appropriate 
emotions." 

And  so  speaking,  Koshchei  quitted  Jurgen  forever. 

"Yet  how  may  I  be  sure,"  thought  Jurgen,  instantly, 
"that  this  black  gentleman  was  really  Koshchei?  He 
said  he  was?  Why,  yes;  and  Horvendile  to  all  intents 
told  me  that  Horvendile  was  Koshchei.  Aha,  and  what 


OF  THE  COMPROMISE  WITH  KOSHCHEI        363 


else  did  Horvendile  say ! — 'This  is  one  of  the  romancer's 
most  venerable  devices  that  is  being  practised.'  Why, 
but  there  was  Smoit  of  Glathion,  also,  so  that  this  is 
the  third  time  I  have  been  fobbed  off  with  the  explana 
tion  I  was  dreaming!  and  left  with  no  proof,  one  way 
or  the  other." 

Thus  Jurgen,  indignantly,  and  then  he  laughed.  "Why, 
but,  of  course!  I  may  have  talked  face  to  face  with 
Koshchei,  who  made  all  things  as  they  are;  and  again, 
I  may  not  have.  That  is  the  whole  point  of  it — the 
cream,  as  one  might  say,  of  the  jest — that  I  cannot  ever 
be  sure.  Well!" —  and  Jurgen  shrugged  here — "wellj 
and  what  could  I  be  expected  to  do  about  it?" 


50. 

The  Moment  That  Did  Not  Count 


AND  that  is  really  all  the  story  save  for  the  moment 
Jurgen  paused  on  his  way  home.    For  Koshchei 
(if  it,  indeed,  was  Koshchei)  had  quitted  Jurgen 
just  as  they  approached  Bellegarde:  and  as  the  pawn 
broker  walked  on  alone  in  the  pleasant  April  evening 
one  called  to  him  from  the  terrace.    Even  in  the  dusk  he 
knew  this  was  the  Countess  Dorothy. 

"May  I  speak  with  you  a  moment?"  says  she. 

"Very  willingly,  madame."  And  Jurgen  ascended  from 
the  highway  to  the  terrace. 

"I  thought  it  would  be  near  your  supper  hour.  So  I 
was  waiting  here  until  you  passed.  You  conceive,  it 
is  not  quite  convenient  for  me  to  seek  you  out  at  the 
shop/' 

"Why,  no,  madame.  There  is  a  prejudice,"  said  Jur 
gen,  soberly.  And  he  waited. 

He  saw  that  Madame  Dorothy  was  perfectly  composed, 
yet  anxious  to  speed  the  affair.  "You  must  know,"  said 
she,  "that  my  husband's  birthday  approaches,  and  I 
wish  to  surprise  him  with  a  gift.  It  is  therefore  neces 
sary  that  I  raise  some  money  without  troubling  him 
How  much — abominable  usurer! —  could  you  advance 
me  upon  this  necklace?" 

Jurgen  turned  it  in  his  hand.     It  was  a  handsome 

364 


THE  MOMENT  THAT  DID  NOT  COUNT          365 


piece  of  jewelry,  familiar  to  him  as  formerly  the  property 
of  Heitman  Michael's  mother.  Jurgen  named  a  sum. 

"But  that,"  the  Countess  says,  "is  not  a  fraction  of 
its  worth !" 

"Times  are  very  hard,  madame.  Of  course,  if  you 
cared  to  sell  outright  I  could  deal  more  generously." 

"Old  monster,  I  could  not  do  that.  It  would  not  be 
convenient."  She  hesitated  here.  "It  would  not  be  ex 
plicable." 

"As  to  that,  madame,  I  could  make  you  an  imitation 
in  paste  which  nobody  could  distinguish  from  the  original. 
I  can  amply  understand  that  you  desire  to  veil  from  your 
husband  any  sacrifices  that  are  entailed  by  your  affection." 

"It  is  my  affection  for  him,"  said  the  Countess  quickly. 

"I  alluded  to  your  affection  for  him,"  said  Jurgen — 
"naturally." 

Then  Countess  Dorothy  named  a  price  for  the  neck 
lace.  "For  it  is  necessary  I  have  that  much,  and  not 
a  penny  less."  And  Jurgen  shook  his  head  dubiously, 
and  vowed  that  ladies  were  unconscionable  bargainers: 
but  Jurgen  agreed  to  what  she  asked,  because  the  neck 
lace  was  worth  almost  as  much  again.  Then  Jurgen 
suggested  that  the  business  could  be  most  conveniently 
concluded  through  an  emissary. 

"If  Messire  de  Nerac,  for  example,  could  have  matters 
explained  to  him,  and  could  manage  to  visit  me  to 
morrow,  I  am  sure  we  could  carry  through  this  amiable 
imposture  without  any  annoyance  whatever  to  Heitman 
Michael,"  says  Jurgen,  smoothly. 

"Nerac  will  come  then,"  says  the  Countess.  "And 
you  may  give  him  the  money,  precisely  as  though  it  were 
for  him," 


366  JURGEN 


"But  certainly,  madame.  A  very  estimable  young 
nobleman,  that!  and  it  is  a  pity  his  debts  are  so  large. 
I  heard  that  he  had  lost  heavily  at  dice  within  the 
last  month;  and  I  grieved,  madame." 

"He  has  promised  me  when  these  debts  are  settled 
to  play  no  more — But  again  what  am  I  saying!  I 
mean,  Master  Inquisitive,  that  I  take  considerable  in 
terest  in  the  welfare  of  Messire  de  Nerac:  and  so  I 
have  sometimes  chided  him  on  his  wild  courses.  And 
that  is  all  I  mean." 

"Precisely,  madame.  And  so  Messire  de  Nerac  will 
come  to  me  to-morrow  for  the  money:  and  there  is  no 
more  to  say." 

Jurgen  paused.  The  moon  was  risen  now.  These 
two  sat  together  upon  a  bench  of  carved  stone  near  the 
balustrade :  and  before  them,  upon  the  other  side  of  the 
highway,  were  luminous  valleys  and  tree-tops.  Fleetingly 
Jurgen  recollected  the  boy  and  girl  who  had  once  sat 
in  this  place,  and  had  talked  of  all  the  splendid  things 
which  Jurgen  was  to  do,  and  of  the  happy  life  that  was 
to  be  theirs  together.  Then  he  regarded  the  composed 
and  handsome  woman  beside  him,  and  he  considered  that 
the  money  to  pay  her  latest  lover's  debts  had  been  assured 
with  a  suitable  respect  for  appearances. 

"Come,  but  this  is  a  gallant  lady,  who  would  defy 
the  almanac,"  reflected  Jurgen.  "Even  so,  thirty-eight 
is  an  undeniable  and  somewhat  autumnal  figure,  and  I 
suspect  young  Nerac  is  bleeding  his  elderly  mistress. 
Well,  but  at  his  age  nobody  has  a  conscience.  Yes,  and 
Madame  Dorothy  is  handsome  still;  and  still  my  pulse 
is  playing  me  queer  tricks,  because  she  is  near  me,  and 
my  voice  has  not  the  intonation  I  intend,  because  she  is 


THE  MOMENT  THAT  DID  NOT  COUNT          367 


near  me;  and  still  I  am  three-quarters  in  love  with  her. 
Yes,  in  the  light  of  such  cursed  folly  as  even  now 
possesses  me,  I  have  good  reason  to  give  thanks  for 
the  regained  infirmities  of  age.  Yet  living  seems  to  me 
a  wasteful  and  inequitable  process,  for  this  is  a  poor  out 
come  for  the  boy  and  girl  that  I  remember.  And  weigh 
ing  this  outcome,  I  am  tempted  to  weep  and  to  talk 
romantically,  even  now." 

But  he  did  not.  For  really,  weeping  was  not  requisite. 
Jurgen  was  making  his  fair  profit  out  of  the  Countess's 
folly,  and  it  was  merely  his  duty  to  see  that  this  little 
business  transaction  was  managed  without  any  scandal. 

"So  there  is  nothing  more  to  say,"  observed  Jurgen, 
as  he  rose  in  the  moonlight,  "save  that  I  shall  always 
be  delighted  to  serve  you,  madame,  and  I  may  reason 
ably  boast  that  I  have  earned  a  reputation  for  fair 
dealing." 

And  he  thought:  "In  effect,  since  certainly  as  she' 
grows  older  she  will  need  yet  more  money  for  her  lovers, 
I  am  offering  to  pimp  for  her."  Then  Jurgen  shrugged. 
"That  is  one  side  of  the  affair.  The  other  is  that  I 
transact  my  legitimate  business, — I,  who  am  that  which 
the  years  have  made  of  me." 

Thus  it  was  that  Jurgen  quitted  the  Countess  Dorothy, 
whom,  as  you  have  heard,  this  pawnbroker  had  loved  in 
his  first  youth  under  the  name  of  Heart's  Desire;  and 
whom  in  the  youth  that  was  loaned  him  by  Mother  Sereda 
he  had  loved  as  Queen  Helen,  the  delight  of  gods  and 
men.  For  Jurgen  was  quitting  Madame  Dorothy  after 
the  simplest  of  business  transactions,  which  consumed 
only  a  moment,  and  did  not  actually  count  one  wav  or  the 
other. 


368  JURGEN 


And  after  this  moment  which  did  not  count,  the 
pawnbroker  resumed  his  journey,  and  so  came  presently 
to  his  home.  He  peeped  through  the  window.  And 
there  in  a  snug  room,  with  supper  laid,  sat  Dame  Lisa 
about  some  sewing,  and  evidently  in  a  quite  amiable  frame 
of  mind. 

Then  terror  smote  the  Jurgen  who  had  faced  sorcerers 
and  gods  and  devils  intrepidly.  "For  I  forgot  about 
the  butter!" 

But  immediately  afterward  he  recollected  that,  now, 
not  even  what  Lisa  had  said  to  him  in  the  cave  was 
real.  Neither  he  nor  Lisa,  now,  had  ever  been  in  the 
cave,  and  probably  there  was  no  longer  any  such  place, 
and  now  there  never  had  been  any  such  place.  It  was 
rather  confusing. 

"Ah,  but  I  must  remember  carefully,"  said  Jurgen, 
"that  I  have  not  seen  Lisa  since  breakfast,  this  morning. 
Nothing  whatever  has  happened.  There  has  been  no 
requirement  laid  upon  me,  after  all,  to  do  the  manly 
thing.  So  I  retain  my  wife,  such  as  she  is,  poor  dear! 
I  retain  my  home.  I  retain  my  shop  and  a  fair  line  of 
business.  Yes,  Koshchei — if  it  was  really  Koshchei — has 
dealt  with  me  very  justly.  And  probably  his  methods 
are  everything  they  should  be;  certainly  I  cannot  go  so 
far  as  to  say  that  they  are  wrong:  but  still,  at  the  same 
time—!" 

Then  Jurgen  sighed,  and  entered  his  snug  home.  Thus 
it  was  in  the  old  days. 

EXPLICIT 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


M»R  2  01965 


JUN7   '65 -10. PH. 


General  Library 


YB  32299 


